Sri Lanka eye historic AFC Asian Cup spot in Colombo showdown
Come Tuesday (18), the Sri Lanka men’s football team will have the golden opportunity to enter the AFC Asian Cup 2027, and all that depends on how they negotiate the challenge against Thailand at the Racecourse in Colombo. Their fellow countrymen will rely on the football team to exceed the challenge, with the fact that Sri Lanka is the only remaining team from the South Asian region within the hunt to reach the next level.
This is against the background that South Asian nations, including regional heavyweights India, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Brunei, Bhutan and Pakistan have already been eliminated from the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualification, despite three more matches remaining to complete the selection process.
My team is Sri Lanka, and I want to see my team win every time we go out, we have achieved our goal, the challenge is to maintain that -- Head Coach Abdullah Al Mutairi
But, as always, Sri Lanka Head Coach Abdullah Al Mutairi has an optimistic approach towards the challenge against Thailand, a stronger team placed 96 in FIFA rankings. Though Sri Lanka is placed 193 in FIFA rankings, Coach Al Mutairi is positive that his men can deliver the goods in front of a large spectator backing on home soil.
“We always head to a game expecting a win, and against Thailand there’s no change in that mindset,” stated Al Mutairi last Thursday, after the Sri Lanka men finished their training session.
The members of the Sri Lanka men’s football team gathered in Colombo last week to begin training, and have already conducted a few sessions at the Racecourse. But on Thursday they took an early break to witness the friendly international game between Thailand and Singapore, as Sri Lanka’s opponents on Tuesday recorded a 3-2 win at their home base. Though Thailand sit second in Group ‘D’ of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers behind table-toppers Turkmenistan with an equal number of three wins in four outings, Sri Lanka may find a loophole with the change of Thailand’s Head Coach. Last month Thailand replaced their Japanese coach Masatada Ishii, who served two years, with Englishman Anthony Hudson, due to an internal policy decision taken by their football authorities.
“That does not change our approach. There only can be a change in the formation, but their players are the same,” stated Jaswar Umar, the President of Football Sri Lanka.
Nevertheless, Sri Lanka will most likely come out with the same formation that brought them a famous 1-0 win against Turkmenistan on October 9 in Colombo. A win on Tuesday will make Sri Lanka even with Thailand, and a draw could still give the island nation some hope as Turkmenistan host group bottom seed Chinese Taipei on the same day. Even if Sri Lanka end up with a loss, they still will have a little hope with the next round of the group games coming up on March 31, 2026, when Thailand host Turkmenistan and Chinese Taipei host Sri Lanka to wind up all doubts.
“Whatever happens, we have performed beyond expectations. The AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers were never in our bucket list, our focus was the SAFF Cup 2026 and then beyond. But now this has happened, what was meant to be a preparation outing has proved otherwise,” an excited Umar added.
Currently, Turkmenistan lead the Group ‘D’ table with three wins from four games and a loss, with nine points, while Thailand are placed second with similar figures. Sri Lanka are placed third with two each of wins and losses in four outings and six points, while Chinese Taipei, already out of the race being eliminated, lie at the bottom without a win or a point in four outings.
“Technically, if we beat Thailand with a good margin, then we can have hopes as their next game is against Turkmenistan. On the other hand Sri Lanka’s chances of reaching the next stage are open with our next game being against a declining Chinese Taipei side, where we could possibly have the opportunity of scoring a big win,” Umar pointed out the possibilities and probabilities for Sri Lanka.
On the other hand Coach Al Mutairi obviously has set eyes at extending his success rate, having already won four out of eight games in 2025. With three losses and a draw, Al Mutairi, a passionate individual with extra commitment and dedication in his capacity as the Head Coach, would hope to finish off the year with five wins in nine outings.
“My team is Sri Lanka, and I want to see my team win every time we go out. We have been in good shape right throughout. We are happy with our progress, our mentality, our position in football, and our success as the only team from South Asia remaining in the hunt. We have achieved our goal, the challenge is to maintain that,” stated an optimistic Al Mutairi, who will surely look to spring a surprise on Thailand on Tuesday.