• AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers

Sri Lanka led by goalkeeper Sujan Perera came out victorious against hosts Chinese Taipei 3-1 in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Round 6 game yesterday (31). The match was played at the Taipei Municipal Stadium. It was a clash in Group D. This win marks the second consecutive win away from home for Lanka.

When both teams met last year in June at the Colombo leg it was the same scoreline as the Sri Lankan ‘Golden Army’ thumped the visitors 3-1 at the Colombo Racecourse. 

At half time Sri Lanka were in a commanding position with a 2-0 lead which set the tone for a comfortable second half. For the Lankans Rahul Suresh opened the scoring in the 18th minute to take an early lead. Niloshan Senthurvasan scored the second goal in the 26th minute to almost seal the deal for Lanka.

The second essay saw a very competitive game as both teams scored a goal each. In fact Sri Lanka were gifted the third goal through an own goal by a Chinese Taipei player. 

Group D of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers consists of Turkmenistan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Chinese Taipei. Thailand lead the points table followed by Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka with Chinese Taipei at the bottom.

Coming into the game, Chinese Taipei were ranked 174 and Sri Lanka at 194, yesterday's (31) win for Sri Lanka is expected to significantly boost Sri Lanka’s FIFA ranking, potentially climbing to around 190.

Over the past 18 months, Sri Lanka has risen from a FIFA World ranking of rock bottom 207 to approximately 190.