Sri Lanka faces uphill task in World Cup 2026 Qualifier second leg

By Althaf Nawaz

Sri Lankan soccerites will face an uphill task of maintaining a score-line of four goals to nil if they are to remain in the rest of competition when they meet Yemen in the second leg of the World Cup 2026 Qualifier at Race Course Stadium today. Kick-off is scheduled at 3 p.m.

Losing the first leg 3-0 last week in Saudi Arabia, the Lankan camp will have a herculean task ahead of them if they are to qualify for the next stage of the competition.

Charitha Ratnayaka, who was entrusted to lead the side in the first leg, will continue his job as Harsha Fernando who was nominated to take over from Charitha is on the sick list. It was a commendable performance by the Lankan camp who restricted their rivals to break the defence only thrice, while missing several scoring opportunities which went begging due to fatigue. 

Nevertheless, today’s game is going to be a crucial one and Charitha was quite optimistic of turning tables. “We had a good game in the first leg but due to some mistakes they scored. We as a unit came out after a few weeks of practice due to suspension. With our head coach Andy’s guidance, we were able to put up a good performance.”

“This will be a crucial one for us. We have to score four goals while restricting the rivals from scoring a single goal. It is a big ask from us, but our boys are very focused and determined to achieve this milestone,” said Charitha. 

Andy Morrison, the Lankan head coach, was very appreciative of his boys’ performance. He said, “With limited time span the boys did their best and gave their best. There was no football at all for almost a year whereas our rival team players were engaged with clubs in various countries. They had been playing the game which made them become fitter. But our situation was the other way around. Still, it was quite a good performance by them.”

“We will go all out to give our best to qualify, which is a tough task. But we are determined and keen to win and qualify for the next stage of the competition,” added Morrison.

On the other hand, Yemen ranked 147 in the FIFA rankings, has many players who have exposure playing overseas. They too were affected by the civil war which deprived them of playing their leagues domestically. They have practiced in Egypt mostly for the last few days in Saudi Arabia before the first leg of this tournament.

Yemen Head Coach Miroslav Soukup, a Czech Republic, commended the arrangements done here and spoke highly of the Lankan team. “We are very thankful to the host for the wonderful arrangements done. I would like to state that the Lankan team gave us a tough time even though we scored three goals. With limited time span they put up a splendid performance. Playing as visitors is not an easy task. We will have to work hard to pull off another victory.”

Abdulwasea Al Matari the Yemeni captain also showed his gratitude for the wonderful arrangements and said, “We never take our rival lightly. Even though we won, it was a tough game for us. This leg is going to be another tough assignment for us and we will go all out to win it.”  

Pix by Lasantha Kumara