- A maiden win yet eludes hosts
Clinical Thailand pummelled out of sorts Sri Lanka into submission for an effortless 4-0 victory, in their one-sided AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers final round fixture at Racecourse Grounds, Colombo yesterday evening (18).
Thailand ranked 96th in the world demonstrated the yawning gulf in class between them and the home team, as they delivered an efficient performance to subdue the Lankans, who missed their side-lined regular skipper and goalkeeper Sujan Perera.
The visitors' unrelenting attacking game strangled the hosts throughout and despite a few chances missed, they never really threatened the tourists and capitulated tamely.
Thailand led 1-0 at half time following a seventh minute strike, and fired three further goals in the second half (65th, 76th and 89th minutes) respectively, as an elusive first-ever win over the former in eight attempts, yet continued to elude the island-nation.
For Thailand midfielder Thanawat Suengchitthawon drew first blood in the 6th minute with a rocket of a shot which saw stop-gap goalkeeper Kaveesha Fernando clutching at straws.
Afterwards for the remainder of the first half, Sri Lanka did well to contain the Thais, but they eventually ran out of steam after the interval and succumbed without a genuine fight.
In the second 45-minute period, substitute midfielder Soonsup-Bell sealed the game with his first strike for the Thais in the 65th minute with a deft header, but they were far from finished at that stage.
The visitors attacking verve paid dividends via the boot of defender Pansa Hemviboon who threaded a clean header into the net in the 76th minute, and the score deflated the home team led on the day by defender Claudio Matthias.
The carnage continued as Thailand put the exclamation mark on an emphatic display when Soonup-Bell hammered his second and their 4th goal overall, a minute from full-time against a totally dysfunctional Lankan outfit.
The heavy loss yesterday sealed Sri Lanka’s fate in their bid to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia and Thailand thanks to their comprehensive triumph and went to the top of Group D.
Their remaining fixture against Turkmenistan is to be played on 31 March 2026, while Turkmenistan were due to meet Chinese Taipei later on yesterday (18).
Sri Lanka for their part will lick their wounds and next face underperforming Chinese Taipei away on the same date next year, to round up the Group D clashes of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia Qualifiers.