2nd Leg: SL 1-1 Yemen
1st Leg: SL 0-3 Yemen
Yemen 4-1 SL (Yemen win on aggregate)
Skipper Charitha Rathnayake marshalled his troops to score Sri Lanka’s first goal at home after two long years since 2021. The “Golden Yellow Army” took on the Yemen outfit at the Colombo Race Course Ground on Tuesday (17) in their second leg clash of the Round 1 AFC Asian FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
However, Yemen qualified for the next round with the aggregate score 4-1 in their favour. Sri Lanka lost the first leg 3-0 at Abha, Saudi Arabia last week. Yemen are not into the Preliminary Joint Qualifiers Round 2, but Sri Lanka’s efforts last evening clearly shows the brilliant work put in by players and coaching staff amidst tough times in the last couple of months when local football was in the doldrums.
Sri Lanka playing an international game at home after 18 months gave their everything, and played their hearts out until the last gasp. Coming in as clear-cut underdogs – at 202nd rank in the FIFA rankings and the lowest ranked Asian team in the competition – the home side took on a superlative Yemeni outfit, ranked 156th in the world.
The home crowd was shell-shocked right from the beginning as Yemen scored the opening goal within five minutes of the game. However, the Lankans held onto safeguarding the net with rock solid defence. Sri Lanka missed five golden scoring opportunities in the opening half, with many close calls going in vain.
Half-time – Yemen 1-0 Sri Lanka
Star striker Waseem Razick missed an early opportunity to equalise in the early second half as he missed a penalty. Nonetheless, the resilient local team put on a gallant, gutsy performance, and made the home fans go wild as skipper Charitha Rathnayake volleyed a header into the net at the last gasp, with 88 minutes gone on the clock. The goal gave everyone at the Race Course – and the huge, live global audience on live streams – a glimpse of hope for Sri Lanka football’s shining future ahead. Former national skipper Sujan Perera was the silent hero for the Sri Lankan outfit, with his goalkeeping masterpiece.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Yemen’s Head Coach Miroslav Soukup commended their rivals Sri Lanka and their hospitality. He further added: “The Sri Lankans are a well-disciplined team and they were worthy opponents.” When asked about their future plans going into the upcoming games, the coach, hailing from the Czech Republic, added: “We want to be a danger to the top teams in the world as we will be playing tougher teams going forward in the competition.”
Sri Lanka’s Head Coach Andy Morrison said: “Honestly the proudest man for Sri Lanka today is a Brit. As coach, I am so proud of these lads who put on a show to remember for the ages, especially for all the fans who turned in numbers on a working day at 3 p.m.”
Regarding the comeback performance when compared to the previous away game in Saudi Arabia last week, the Scotsman further added: “We played better than we did in Saudi. What nobody knows is that five players went down due to fever just before the game. We were in dire straits, but everyone else stepped in to play their hearts out to show everyone what we are made of.”
Yesterday Morrison, at the pre-match presser, told the media: "We are on the front foot, and with sheer resilience, I think gradually we can become the best team in the region, with many more Sri Lankan origin players from all over the world willing to come and play for the national outfit, which will eventually develop the competition as well as skill levels of the players here at home in Sri Lanka too.”
The Football Federation of Sri Lanka is in talks with relevant authorities in sorting out VISA and dual citizenship regulations of the overseas-based Lankan players who are planning to don the national jersey.
According to the tournament organisers, all ticket collections from the Sri Lanka vs. Yemen game will be contributed to the National Sports Fund.
Meanwhile, Pakistan became the first South Asian team to qualify for round two of the AFC FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian qualifier.