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Lanka set for decisive SAFF Cup opener against Bhutan on 8 Nov.

Teams could ill afford losses in truncated edition
Umar sets target for Almutairi to return home with silverware

Sri Lanka who will be out to regain the regional football title for the first time since 1995 are scheduled to face Bhutan in their first Group A fixture in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 8 November when the 15th SAFF Techno Cup kicks off next month.

The tournament is set to be staged from 4-17 November with Bangladesh hosting the latest edition. For Sri Lanka their Group A preliminary engagements could be restricted to only two matches against Bhutan and against hosts Bangladesh on 11 November.

Although Nepal has also been named as one of the competing teams for the SAFF Cup this year, their participation is in serious doubt as they are currently under a FIFA suspension.

Hence the forthcoming event could be restricted to six nations with Bangladesh (hosts), Bhutan and Sri Lanka in Group A and defending champions India, Maldives and Pakistan making up Group B.

For the Lankans their tournament opener against Bhutan could turnout to be a must-win affair, as they will afterwards have to contend with Bangladesh, with only the top-two sides set to advance to the semis on 14 November. The final is slated for Dhaka, three days later.

If Sri Lanka could post a win with a higher aggregate of goals and then force a draw against Bangladesh that would be sufficient for them to guarantee their place in the last-four.

As the competition this time around has been reduced to six teams, and with only three teams per the two groups, any losses suffered could derail a side’s chances of advancing to the Knockout stage of the truncated tournament.

Sri Lanka however will enter the upcoming event exuding confidence as they are currently on a five-match winning streak, and with origin players from overseas adding much-needed thrust to the squad, they will be one of the sides to watch out for.

When contacted, President of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) Jaswar Umar was upbeat of the chances for Sujan Perera’s team, and stated that they have already given a target to the head coach to achieve with his men in Bangladesh.

“The goal that we have given to our head coach Kuwaiti national Abdullah Almutairi, is to steer his team to SAFF Cup success and return home with that coveted Trophy,” the FFSL boss told The Daily Morning Sports.

“The new system which we introduced to allow origin players from abroad to represent Sri Lanka has been successful. Due to this reason alone, we stand a genuine chance this time to reclaim that silverware, unlike at any stage in the past.”

Following the newest update of the FIFA Men’s World Rankings, Sri Lanka has advanced to 184th position which also happens to be their best ever showing in the global leaderboard for over 11 years.

In the South Asian region however, India continues to be the leading nation in the World Rankings being placed at 138th, while the rest of the countries Maldives ((173), Nepal (178), Bangladesh (182), Bhutan (192) and Pakistan (197) are placed in that order.

Sri Lanka’s sole success in the competition’s history came precisely 31 years ago on home soil, when a side led by Sampath Perera overcame India in the final played at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo, when it was then known as the SAFF Gold Cup.