BEIRUT: Lebanon put Bangladesh to the sword in the first leg of their World Cup qualifying round with a comfortable 4-0 win at the Cite Sportive stadium in Beirut Saturday.

Uncharacteristically for Lebanon, they dominated from start to finish, passing patiently and attacking deliberately and often ruthlessly as they picked apart their Asian rivals with a confidence rarely associated with the national team.

As usual Hassan Maatouk was the best player on the team, knitting together neat triangles while ghosting between Bangladesh’s line of defense and midfield, pulling players out of position and opening spaces for Mahmoud al-Ali to exploit.

It was Maatouk that got Lebanon off to a good start with Ahed winger opening the scoring after 15 minutes with a devastating finish. Maatouk drifted in from the right hand side, darting through a hole in Bangladesh’s midfield and creating the necessary space to rifle off a blistering effort.

The silence from the crowd didn’t deter the players who celebrated and subsequently played with greater gusto than their small group of supporters who were themselves outweighed by the Bangladeshi faithful.

Half an hour into the game Ali doubled Lebanon’s lead, tapping in from close range. Maatouk sent Hassan Moghrabi free down the right hand side with a delicate reverse pass before the Nejmeh midfielder bore down on goal and laid the ball square for Ali to slot home.

Holding a two goal lead at halftime, Lebanon looked to open an unassailable lead come next week’s second leg. Ali Saadi opened a three goal lead 10 minutes in to the second half before Tarek Ali converted from close range to make it four on 63 minutes. Mahmoud al-Ali should have had a second but he had a goal incorrectly chalked off after scoring from close range after his first effort had been parried.