Sri Lanka Coach Abdullah Almutairi (left) and Captain Sujan Perera 

By Susil Premalal

National Coach Abdullah Almutairi vowed to revive football in Sri Lanka with a fresh campaign as they look to get into winning ways with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asia Cup Qualifying round first leg match against Cambodia at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo, today, commencing at 3.30 p.m.       

Almutairi has helped the Nepal National Team reach the SAFF Championship final against India in 2021 as they emerged runners-up for the first time in history.

“I have worked with the Sri Lankan players for more than two weeks and I know their strengths and weaknesses and they will deliver an attacking game to clinch this first leg,” Almutairi revealed during a media briefing held at the Football House in Colombo yesterday.    

“I aim to satisfy the Sri Lankan football fans by guiding the team to victory in this AFC Asia Cup Qualifier. I have a 100 per cent commitment to accomplish this goal,” Almutairi added.   

Meanwhile, the second leg of the AFC Asia Cup Qualifier Tournament between the two teams will be played on September 10 at the Phnom Penh Olympics Stadium in Cambodia.

According to the latest FIFA Rankings, the Sri Lanka National Football Team is currently in 205th place, while Cambodia is in 180th place.

Cambodia Coach Agustin Gonzalez said the two teams cannot be judged according to the FIFA Rankings but will be determined to put up a good performance despite the odds against his team.   

“The FIFA Rankings are something different and you cannot measure the two teams accordingly on the field.”

“The Cambodia Team is made of entirely local players without any overseas recruits but my team will certainly give their best to pull off the game,” Gonzalez added.      

Sri Lanka Captain Sujan Perera and Cambodia Captain Thiecry Chantha believed both teams have an equal chance and the game will turn into a close contest.  

The Sri Lanka Football Squad: Sujan Perera, (Captain) Harsha Fernando, Jack Hingert, Claudio Matthias, Mohamed Aakib, Samuel Durrant, Mohamed Hasmeer, Shenal Sandesh, Mohamed Aman, Woranda Perera, Bharath Suresh, Anujan Rajendram, Waseem Razeek, Firaz Marshuk, Adhavan Rajamojan, Jude Supun, Oliver Kelaart, Mohamed Rifkhan, Sacay Steven, Kaveesh Fernando, Leon Perera, Mohamed Mursith, Wade Dekker, Thenuka Ranweera and Jason Thayaparan.