Sri Lanka produced an improved performance to force a thrilling 1-1 draw to their FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asia Cup 2027 preliminary round one, second leg encounter against Yemen played at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo today.

After their 0-3 drubbing at the hands of the same opponents last week in Abha, Saudi Arabia, the home side got their act together well to score the equaliser in the second half having trailed 0-1 at half time.

This performance had a great amount of significance as Sri Lanka were able to draw an international fixture after a lapse of three years.

Yemen made their intentions clear and struck as early as the fourth minute of play with Skipper and centre Abdul Wasea Al-Matari providing the breakthrough with a sole effort.

Sri Lanka made a determined effort in the second half as they rallied around magnificently to apply a great amount of pressure on their more fancied opponents.

In fact, the home side missed out on more than a couple of scoring opportunities during the second half including a penalty by Razeek Ahmed in the 50th minute.

However, their efforts were finally rewarded when Skipper Charitha Rathnayaka found the net after a successful corner kick in the 89th minute of the game.

Despite the defeat, Yemen qualified for the second round on a 4-1 goal aggregate. (Susil Premalal)