The Qualifying round two of the FIFA World Cup 2022 game between Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan will take place at the Race Course ground at 7.00 p.m. today.
This game will be of great importance for both teams to make it to the next round which will be decided after the completion of the second leg scheduled for 10 September.
Turkmenistan coach Mise Ante speaking said at a press conference held at the FFSL auditorium said that they arrived in the country after a ten-day visit to the UAE where they played a few friendly games.
“The climatic conditions there were completely different and the players found it difficult to play their normal game. But the way they took up the challenge in a very serious way helped them to improve vastly,” Ante said.
Ante said his side is packed with many young players with less experience but they are capable of producing their best to compensate in the absence two midfielders due to injuries. “Though the injured may not play in today’s game I expect them to be fit for the next game next week,” he said.
Turkmensitan skipper Arslaw Amanov said that his team is on a high morale and they are sure to give their best for them to emerge victoriouis. He further added that their coach takes great care of the youngsters which has helped the team to boost their morale.
Rumy Pakeer Ali the national coach who took charge of the national team 16 months ago was a happy man yesterday and noted that Sri Lanka has managed to make their way to the second round of the World Cup qualifying round after a lapse of 16 years. “This was achieved under my guidance as I worked with a plan from the beginning,” he said.
“The national team was lacking international exposure in the past which was the main cause for our downfall in the game. My plan was to give them more exposure by playing out of the country that is why our boys came to reach this standard. I am happy the boys gave me good support to implement this plan,” said Ali.
The National team toured a few countries and played friendly games but could not come up with good results. However the experience they gained helped the team to reach the semi-finals of the South Asian Games which shows improvement.
These factors pretty well shows that the players have learnt a lot though losing a few games now they have corrected those mistakes and are sure to come up with a better game of football against Turkmenistanis today.
Speaking on the change of the captaincy Packeer Ali said that Sajan Perera was a good captain but as he is unable to be with the team members due his commitments they decided to remove him from the captaincy. “Before his removal we had a lengthy discussion and explained to him that he as the captain has to be with other members of the team to boost the morale of the team,” said Ali.
Sri Lankan skipper Kavindu Ishan speaking at the conference said that the coach is helping them to correct their mistakes whenever they fault.
“This attitude has helped us immensely for all of us to improve standards in the game. As all my team members are giving their fullest co-operation to me at present our team morale is very high. I am confident that we are capable of recording a win here to move to the next round,” he said.
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