Lili Iskandar
Iskandar with SAS in 2020
Personal information
Full name Layla Pascal Iskandar[1]
Date of birth (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002
Place of birth Zgharta, Lebanon[1]
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team
 Al-Ittihad
Number 12
Youth career
Salam Zgharta
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Salam Zgharta (10)
2019–2021 SAS (15)
2021–2022 HB Køge 0 (0)
2022–2023 Etihad 24 (19)
2023– Al-Ittihad 2 (0)
International career‡
2018–2019 Lebanon U18 7 (7)
2019–2020 Lebanon U19 6 (3)
2018– Lebanon 20 (9)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Lebanon
WAFF Women's Championship
Silver medal – second place2022
Bronze medal – third place2019
WAFF U-18 Girls Championship
Gold medal – first place2019U-18 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 06:22, 27 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:54, 30 September 2023 (UTC)

Layla Pascal "Lili" Iskandar (Arabic: ليلى باسكال "ليلي" اسكندر; born 16 May 2002) is a Lebanese footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Saudi Women's Premier League club Al-Ittihad and the Lebanon national team. A versatile forward, Iskandar can also play as a winger.

Starting out at Salam Zgharta in 2018–19, Iskandar moved to reigning champions SAS. In her first season at the club (2019–20), she helped SAS lift their fifth league title, scoring 15 goals in the process. Iskandar joined Danish side HB Køge for the 2021–22 season. In 2022 she moved to Etihad in Jordan, winning the 2023 league title as top goalscorer (14 goals).

Iskandar represented Lebanon at the youth level, winning the 2019 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship as the competition's top scorer. Iskandar has also played at senior level since 2018. She helped Lebanon finish runners-up at the WAFF Women's Championship in 2022 as the competition's best player, and in third place in 2019. Iskandar is the Lebanon women's national team top goalscorer.

Club career

Lebanon

Iskandar played for hometown club Salam Zgharta during the 2018–19 season, scoring 10 goals.[2][3] In 2019 she moved to reigning champions SAS. In the final matchday of the season, Iskandar scored a brace against EFP to help her side win the 2019–20 league title.[4] She ended the season with 15 goals,[3][5] scoring at a rate of more than one goal per game.[6]

HB Køge

On 9 July 2021, Iskandar moved to HB Køge ahead of the 2021–22 Danish Women's League on a one-year contract.[7]

Etihad

On 3 July 2022, Iskandar joined Jordan Women's Pro League club Etihad.[8] She noted that the main reason for choosing the club was reuniting with former Lebanon national team coach Wael Gharzeddine.[9] Iskandar scored her first goal on 17 July, helping Etihad beat Al-Nasr 3–0 in the league.[10] She finished the season with five goals in 12 games,[11] helping her side finish runners-up in the league and the cup.[12]

On 2 September 2023, Iskandar led Ettihad to win the Women's Club Championship as top scorer with four goals.[13] She finished the 2023 Jordan Women's Pro League as top scorer with 14 goals in 12 games,[11] helping Etihad win their first league title.[14]

Al-Ittihad

In October 2023, Iskandar joined Al-Ittihad during the 2023–24 Saudi Women's Premier League.[15]

International career

Youth

Iskandar's first international goal came on her debut for the Lebanon under-19 national team, on 24 October 2018, in a 2019 AFC U-19 Championship qualification match against Hong Kong.[16] She played four games during the qualifiers, scoring once.[1] Iskandar was the top goalscorer of the 2019 WAFF U-18 Girls Championship, which she won, scoring seven goals in five matches.[3][17]

In December 2020, Iskandar played two friendly games against Egypt U19, a 3–1 defeat and a 3–2 win, scoring in both games.[18][19] With her two goals against Egypt, Iskandar became the first player to reach 10 goals for the under-18 and under-19 teams.[20]

Senior

Iskandar's senior debut for Lebanon came on 8 November 2018, coming on as a substitute against Iran in a 2020 AFC Olympic qualification match.[21] Iskandar also played four games for Lebanon at the 2019 WAFF Championship,[1] helping her team reach third place.[22]

On 24 October 2021, Iskandar scored her first goal in a 2022 AFC Asian Cup qualification game against Guam, which ended in a 3–0 win.[23] Iskandar took part in the 2022 WAFF Women's Championship; she helped her side finish runners-up as the tournament's best player,[24] scoring one goal against Palestine on 29 August.[25] On 8 April 2023, Iskandar scored her first international brace in a 5–0 win against Indonesia in the 2024 AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[26]

On 30 September 2023, Iskandar scored in the 102nd minute of the 2023 SAFF Friendly Tournament final, a 1–0 win against Bhutan. In the process, she broke Christy Maalouf's record of eight international goals for Lebanon.[27]

Style of play

Iskandar is an attacking midfielder with good finishing, who is also capable of creating attacking chances.[6]

Personal life

Iskandar speaks three languages: English, French, and Arabic.[6] Her idol is American footballer Alex Morgan, who she described as a "lady on and off the pitch".[28]

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Iskandar goal.
List of international goals scored by Lili Iskandar
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 24 October 2021 Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan  Guam 2–0 3–0 2022 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2 29 August 2022 Petra Stadium, Amman, Jordan  Palestine 3–0 3–0 2022 WAFF Championship
3 22 March 2023 Fouad Chehab Stadium, Jounieh, Lebanon  Egypt 1–1 1–2 Friendly
4 8 April 2023 Fouad Chehab Stadium, Jounieh, Lebanon  Indonesia 1–0 5–0 2024 AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament
5 5–0
6 18 July 2023 Ansar Stadium, Ansar, Lebanon  Palestine 3–0 5–0 Friendly
7 18 September 2023 King Fahd Sports City, Taif, Saudi Arabia  Laos 4–0 4–1 2023 SAFF Friendly Tournament
8 21 September 2023 King Fahd Sports City, Taif, Saudi Arabia  Bhutan 1–0 3–2 2023 SAFF Friendly Tournament
9 30 September 2023 King Fahd Sports City, Taif, Saudi Arabia  Bhutan 1–0 1–0 2023 SAFF Friendly Tournament

Honours

SAS

Etihad

Lebanon U18

Lebanon

Individual

  • Jordan Women's Pro League top scorer: 2023
  • Women's Club Championship top scorer: 2023
  • WAFF Women's Championship best player: 2022
  • WAFF U-18 Girls Championship top goalscorer: 2019[17]

Records

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Lili Iskandar". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Schöggl, Hans. "Lebanon (Women) 2018/19". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Rocchi, Filippo (28 March 2021). "La giovane Layla "Lili" Iskandar alla conquista dell'Europa". Calcio Femminile Italiano (in Italian). Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "SAS champions of the 2019–20 Lebanese Women's Football League!". FA Lebanon. 1 March 202. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Nehme, Ale. "Lebanon (Women) 2019/20". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 "GameChangers: Lili Iskandar's unshakeable dream". The AFC. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ↑ ليلي اسكندر تنضم إلى نادي HB Køge الدنماركي [Lili Iskandar joins Danish club HB Køge]. Lebanese Football Association. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Etihad Club [@etihadclubjo] (3 July 2022). "Etihad Club officially signs with Lebanon Women's National Team player Layla Iskandar" – via Instagram.
  9. ↑ "إسكندر: آمل الفوز بلقب "المحترفات" مع الاتحاد.. ولا أهتم بالأرقام الفردية (فيديو)". جريدة الغد (in Arabic). 8 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  10. ↑ "الاتحاد يكسب النصر بثلاثية في دوري المحترفات". جريدة الغد (in Arabic). 17 July 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Layla Iskandar". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "نادي الاتحاد يدخل التاريخ في أول مشاركة له" (in Arabic). Etihad Club. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022 – via Facebook.
  13. ↑ "JFA - الاتحاد يتوج بلقب بطولة أندية السيدات 2023". JFA - الاتحاد الاردني لكرة القدم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  14. ↑ "الذهب لا يفارق ليلى اسكندر" (in Arabic). Lebanese Women's Football. 19 September 2023 – via Facebook.
  15. ↑ FA Lebanon [@falebanon] (14 October 2023). تعاقد نادي الاتحاد السعودي مع الهدافة التاريخية للمنتخب اللبناني ليلى اسكندر [Saudi club Al-Ittihad signed the Lebanon national team top scorer Layla Iskandar] – via Instagram.
  16. ↑ "Match Report of Hong Kong U19 vs Lebanon U19". Global Sports Archive. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 "Lebanon Crowned the WAFF U18 Girls Title". The WAFF. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  18. ↑ Mahfoud, Maroun (23 December 2020). "Lebanon's U-19 lose their first friendly". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  19. ↑ فوز شابات لبنان على مصر وديّاً [Lebanon's young women beat Egypt in a friendly]. Lebanese Football Association (in Arabic). 26 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  20. ↑ @falebanon (28 December 2020). "Lili Iskandar needed just 13 matches to reach her 10th goal with the U-19 National Team" – via Instagram.
  21. ↑ "Match Report of Iran vs Lebanon". Global Sports Archive. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  22. ↑ "WAFF Women's Championship 2019 Bahrain". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  23. ↑ "Lebanon finish in style". the-afc.com. 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  24. ↑ الأردن يتوج ببطولة السيدات السابعة.. ويضيف اللقب الخامس إلى سجله [Jordan win the seventh women's championship.. and add a fifth title to their record]. West Asian Football Federation (in Arabic). 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  25. ↑ "بطولة غرب اسيا لكرة القدم للسيدات: ثلاثية نظيفة للبنان امام فلسطين". Elsport News (in Arabic). Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  26. ↑ أول 3 نقاط في التصفيات الأولمبية.. خماسية لبنانية في مرمى إندونيسيا [The first 3 points in the Olympic qualifiers... five goals for Lebanon against Indonesia]. Al Joumhouria (in Arabic). 8 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  27. ↑ "منتخب لبنان بطلاً للبطولة الدولية للسيدات" (in Arabic). Lebanese Football Association. 1 October 2023.
  28. ↑ "New horizons for women's football in Lebanon". FIFA. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  29. ↑ "Lebanon National Team All-Time Stats Women". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
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