KUALA LUMPUR: Lebanon will be aiming for revenge when they take on defending champions Tajikistan in the Merdeka Tournament curtain raiser at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.
Tajikistan pipped world No.116 Lebanon 2-1 in their final Group A match at the Qatar Asian Cup in January which knocked the latter out of the competition.
Lebanon head coach Miodrag Radulovic is looking to kill two birds with one stone at the Merdeka tournament - beat Tajikistan, who are world No. 103, and also test out some new tactics.
"This tournament is highly beneficial for all four teams involved, particularly for my team. We will try out some new players and tactics during this tournament," said Radulovic in the pre-match press conference yesterday.
"I respect all the teams participating because we are at a similar level in terms of Fifa rankings.
"We aim to deliver a good performance throughout the tournament. However, for tomorrow's match, we are looking to avenge our previous defeat against Tajikistan."
Meanwhile, Tajikistan's head coach, Gela Shekiladze, is not concerned about defending the Merdeka Tournament title this time around.
The Georgian coach who was appointed as the replacement for former coach Petar Segrt in February, said he is focused on building a strong team for the 2027 Asian Cup.
"The Merdeka Tournament features many strong opponents and it's beneficial for my players, especially the younger and newer ones," said Shekiladze, who served as an assistant coach to Segrt from 2022.
"We have five new players in the team and we want to build a team for the 2027 Asian Cup. The players need good competitive matches to develop.
"This tournament is a test for the players and I believe they can do well like last year when we won the tournament."