Sri Lanka face Nepal in must-win game today

Sri Lankan players during a training session 

By Susil Premalal reporting from the Maldives

Sri Lanka will face another tough task when they confront Nepal in their second match of the SAFF Football Championship at the National Stadium in the Maldives today. The kick-off is at 9.30 pm (Sri Lanka time).
Sri Lanka will take the field under tremendous pressure as they need to win this game or force a draw in an attempt to stay alive in the competition. The Sri Lankans are still recovering from their early setback in the tournament where a controversial penalty saw them suffer a demoralising 1-0 defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in their opening encounter on Friday.

In contrast, Nepal are brimming with confidence after having defeated defending champions the Maldives 1-0 in their opening fixture on Friday.

Nepal and Sri Lanka have played 17 matches overall, with the former winning three matches and the latter winning six games while eight matches have ended in a draw. The two teams met for the last time in 2016 during an international friendly where Nepal came out victorious 1-0. Before that Sri Lanka beat Nepal 1-0 at the 2015 SAFF Championships.     

         
Nepal are currently placed 168th in the FIFA Rankings while Sri Lanka are placed 205th out of 210 nations.
The Sri Lanka Team had their final preparations for this vital game yesterday and are set to come out with an improved performance.