Sri Lanka national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Sri Lanka women's national football team.

The Sri Lanka national football team (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාපන්දු කණ්ඩායම Shri Lanka Papandu Kandayama, Tamil: இலங்கை தேசிய கால்பந்து அணி Ilaṅkai Tēciya Kālpantu Aṇi) represents Sri Lanka in Association football and is administered by Football Federation of Sri Lanka, the governing body of football in Sri Lanka. They have been a member of FIFA since 1952 and a member of AFC since 1954. Sri Lanka's home stadium is the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo. The Sri Lankan team was known as the Ceylon national football team until 1972 when Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka.^[4]

Sri Lanka

Nickname(s)	Golden Army රන් හමුදාව தங்கப் படை
Association	Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	SAFF (South Asia)
Head coach	Abdullah Al Mutairi
Captain	Sujan Perera
Most caps	Channa Ediri Bandanage (64)
Top scorer	Kasun Jayasuriya (27)[1]
Home stadium	Sugathadasa Stadium Colombo Racecourse
FIFA code	SRI
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	200 (3 April 2025)[2]
Highest	122 (August 1998)
Lowest	207 (October 2022)
First international
Ceylon 0–2 India  (Colombo, Ceylon; 1 January 1952)
Biggest win
Sri Lanka 7–1 Pakistan  (Taipei, Taiwan; 4 April 2008)  Sri Lanka 6–0 Bhutan  (Dhaka, Bangladesh; 6 December 2009)
Biggest defeat
Ceylon 1–12 East Germany  (Colombo, Ceylon; 12 January 1964)[3]
SAFF Championship
Appearances	13 (first in 1993)
Best result	Champions (1995)
AFC Challenge Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 2006)
Best result	Runners-up (2006)

A member of the AFC, the team has yet to make their first appearance in FIFA World Cup or AFC Asian Cup finals. They have been South Asian champions once, in 1995. As is true elsewhere on the sub-continent, top-level football in Sri Lanka stands somewhat in the shadow of the country's Cricket team. However, the side did reach the second qualification stage for the 2006 World Cup. In the same year, they became the runners-up in the 2006 Challenge Cup.

In the qualification round of the 2018 World Cup, Sri Lanka lost both matches against Bhutan and failed to qualify for the next round. However, Sri Lanka national football team had managed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2015 SAFF Championship.

History

Early history (1890s–2014)

Ceylon team which participated in the Aga Khan Gold Cup in 1970.

Football was introduced to Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) by the British. There is evidence of it being played in Galle Face, a sandy area near the coast, by British servicemen stationed in Colombo in the 1890s. The game was also played at grounds of the barracks at Echelon Barracks and the army grounds (presently the Taj Samudra Hotels).

British servicemen of the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery and the Royal Garrison Command began and promoted competitive football in Ceylon. The British administrative service and the planting community enthusiastically took it to the Central, Southern, and Up-Country regions. By early 1900 competitive football was popular with the local youth.

The game became popular and local football clubs were formed. St. Michael's SC, Havelock's Football Club, Java Lane SC, Wekande SC, Moors FC, and CH & FC, the last being a European monopoly, were some of the first clubs in Columbo. Harlequins FC and Saunders SC soon joined. The trophies of the early tournaments were the De Mel Shield and the Times of Ceylon Cup.

Football also became popular in the country's Southern Provence, where the planting and administrative community promoted the game. British planter T R. Brough in Deniyaya heavily promoted football in the south between 1910 and 1920, and British servicemen from the Navy wireless station in Matara also helped popularise it.^[5]

Sri Lanka and Pakistan during the Third-place match at the 1997 SAFF Gold Cup

In 1952, Ceylon became a member of FIFA and gained the opportunity to play football at the international level. The country's first international game was played against India in the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament, organized by The Ceylon Football Association.

On 24 October 1953, Tom Ossen, a product of Dharmaraja College, scored the country's first official international goal against Burma at the 1953 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament. The game ended in a 2–3 defeat, with T. J. Azeez netting Ceylon's second goal.^[6]

Renaissance of Sri Lanka football (2015–2019)

In 2015, Sri Lanka played for the first time in the Bangabandhu Cup. This tournament was organised by Bangladesh Football Federation. The national U-23 teams of Thailand, Bahrain, Malaysia and Singapore participated in this tournament. The national football teams of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also competed in this tournament.

Sri Lanka was placed in the group with Malaysia and Bangladesh. In the first game Sri Lanka played against the Malaysian team. Malaysia won the match by 2–0. The second match was played against the host Bangladesh. Sri Lanka lost the game 1–0. Sri Lanka failed to score a goal in this tournament. After a six years of poor performance in the international football field Sri Lanka football team managed to qualify for the Semi Final of 2015 SAFF Championship. The poor performance continued in the Solidarity Cup as well. They had another shock defeat this time by the hands of Mongolia the lowest ranked team in Asia. As a result of this defeat Sri Lanka eliminated in the group stage of the tournament.^[7]

In July 2018, Sri Lanka welcomed a historical encounter when they faced Lithuania, marked for the first time Sri Lanka will face a European team. The Sri Lankans managed a respectable 0–0 draw to the UEFA side but lost 0–2 in the second encounter.^[8] During 2022 World Cup campaign however, Sri Lanka suffered another poor performance as the team fell 0–1 in Zhuhai to Macau. Macau was subsequently disqualified, as the team refused to travel to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings,^[9] Sri Lanka was awarded a 3–0 win in response, thus qualified to the second round of the World Cup for the first time since 2006 campaign.^[10]

Amir Alagic era (2020–2022)

Sujan (C)

H. Fernando

C. Dilshan

M. Aakib

C. Chameera

Asikur

Rathnayake

Shazny

Basith

Razeek

Hamilton

Sri Lanka's starting lineup for the Four Nations Football Tournament 2021 final

In the second round, Sri Lanka was unlucky to be drawn with four 2019 AFC Asian Cup participants, South Korea, North Korea, Lebanon and Turkmenistan. As predicted, Sri Lanka proved too weak for the group, losing all matches without scoring a single goal as for the end of 2019, and was eliminated from World Cup contention. Sri Lanka had improved since then, and participated in the 2020 Bangabandhu Cup, but the team still finished bottom with two defeats and no goal.

In February 2020, the Football Federation of Sri Lanka announced the appointment of Bosnian-Australian specialist Amir Alagić as head coach of the national team.^[11] Sri Lanka then travelled to South Korea to finish their two remaining games against Lebanon and South Korea, losing both, yet optimism rose when Sri Lanka demonstrated an outstanding performance against Lebanon, scoring two goals and only lost by one goal margin, which was also the country's first-ever goals in the qualification. Alagić resigned as coach of Sri Lanka after the qualification, as Sri Lanka, rated as the weakest team in the group, were eliminated without scoring a point. He was replaced by Scottish manager, Andy Morrison.

FIFA suspension and Participation in FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying (2023)

On 22 January 2023, FIFA announced the suspension of the FFSL from 21 January 2023 until further notice due to the government interference in football, but was provisionally included in the draw, pending a resolution. Therefore, all teams/clubs affiliated with the FFSL are no longer entitled to take part in international competitions.^[12] However, after the issue was settled, the ban was lifted allowing Sri Lanka to take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification under a strict condition: FFSL must conduct a new election ten days before the fixture against Yemen; failure to do so would result in automatic disqualification of the team.^[13] The suspension was lifted on 29 August 2023.^[14]

Sri Lanka then participated in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification facing against Yemen on 12 October 2023 but lost 4–1 on aggregate in the process. In September 2024, Sri Lanka then played in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification play-off round against Cambodia in which the aggregate was tied on 2–2 where Claudio Kammerknecht scored in the 120+2th minute in extra time to send the game to penalties shoot-out. Sri Lanka came out victorious thus qualifying to the third round.

2027 Asia Cup Qualification (2024–2025)

The Sri Lanka national football team began their 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification campaign by integrating players of Sri Lankan origin from overseas, including Claudio Kammerknecht and Marvin Hamilton. Their contributions were pivotal in the team’s penalty shoot-out victory over Cambodia in the play-off round, securing a place in the third round.^[15]

In September 2024, Mohamed Al-Mutairi was appointed as head coach to prepare the team for the next stage of qualification.^[16] Sri Lanka is scheduled to play six international friendlies in 2025 to build match fitness and test tactical adjustments ahead of the third round.^[17]

The third round of qualification will take place in 2025, where Sri Lanka has been drawn into Group D alongside Thailand, Turkmenistan, and Chinese Taipei.^[18] The matches are scheduled to be played on a home-and-away basis between 25 March 2025 and 31 March 2026 for Sri Lanka.

Only the group winners will advance to the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Finals.^[19]

Team image

Media coverage

There is no official TV broadcaster for the football matches played by the Sri Lanka team because the Football Federation of Sri Lanka has not sold broadcasting rights. The SAFF Championship was broadcast by several channels, and tournaments in the 1990s and 2000s were broadcast free-to-air by Channel Eye. The 2013 SAFF Championship was broadcast by CSN. Star Sports also broadcast the SAFF Championship on pay TV satellite broadcasters.

The official online broadcaster of Sri Lankan football matches is thepapare.com^[20] which streams the games of the Sri Lanka Football Premier League, the finals of the Sri Lanka FA Cup, and the AFC U-19 Championship.^[21]

Colours

The team uses different kits for home and away games. Since 2023, the kits have been manufactured by Nexxus Sports, a Sri Lankan brand.

Home

The home kit for the 2023-2024 season is a white jersey with scattered yellow and blue dots. The shorts are matching. Historically, it has been blue.

Away

The home kit for the 2023-2024 season is a blue jersey with scattered yellow and white dots. The shorts are matching. Historically, it has been white.

Home stadiums

Sugathadasa Stadium

Sugathadasa Stadium

Sugathadasa Stadium is the former athletic stadium in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1972 and has a capacity of 28,000.^[22] The stadium is mostly used for athletics and football. The 1995 and 2008 SAFF Championship tournaments were held in this stadium. This is the home stadium of Sri Lanka National Football Team.Sri Lanka won their first major football tournament in his stadium. It was defeating India in the Final of 1995 SAFF Championship.

All the FIFA World Cup qualification matches of Sri Lankan team also played in this ground. This ground has become a lucky ground for Sri Lanka team because they have won much of the matches played in here. The draw against Philippines Football team and The Tajikistan Team were well known. In recent times Sri Lanka lost to Bhutan in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualify matches against Bhutan in this Stadium. The 2014–15 FA Cup Final also held in this ground.

Major football tournaments that played in here were the AFC President's Cup and AFC Challenge Cup.

Kalutara Stadium

Kalutara Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. This stadium also known as the Vernon Fernando ground. It is currently used mostly for football matches and hosts the home games of Kalutara Park SC. The stadium holds 15,000 people. This stadium is popularly known as "Kalutara Park Ground". This stadium is located in the heart of Kalutara city. This stadium is mostly use in the Sri Lanka Champions League and Sri Lanka FA Cup tournaments.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Sri Lanka national football team results (2010–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

Brunei  v  Sri Lanka

8 June Friendly	Brunei	1–0	Sri Lanka	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
20:15 UTC+8	Azwan A. 61'	Report (FIFA) Report		Stadium: Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium Referee: Thorpong Somsing (Thailand)

Sri Lanka  v  Brunei

11 June Friendly	Sri Lanka	0–1	Brunei	Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
20:15 UTC+8		Report	Azwan A. 37'	Stadium: Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium Attendance: 800 Referee: Usaid Jamal (Malaysia)

Sri Lanka  v  Cambodia

5 September 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – play-off round	Sri Lanka	0–0	Cambodia	Colombo, Sri Lanka
20:45 UTC+5:30		Report		Stadium: Colombo Racecourse Attendance: 2,955 Referee: Sultan Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)

Cambodia  v  Sri Lanka

10 September 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – play-off round	Cambodia	2–2 (a.e.t.) (2–2 agg.) (2–4 p)	Sri Lanka	Phnom Penh, Cambodia
19:00 UTC+7	Nhean 58' Sos 98'	Report	Kelaart 37' Kammerknecht 120+2'	Stadium: Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium Attendance: 14,178 Referee: Asker Nadjafaliyev (Uzbekistan)
	Penalties
	Taylor Orn Lim Soeuy		Hingert Durrant Kelaart Perera

Myanmar  v  Sri Lanka

10 October Friendly	Myanmar	2–0	Sri Lanka	Yangon, Myanmar
16:00 UTC+6:30	L. M. Aung 16' M. Mg Lwin 53'	Report		Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium Referee: Souei Vongkham (Laos)

Myanmar  v  Sri Lanka

13 October Friendly	Myanmar	0–0	Sri Lanka	Yangon, Myanmar
16:00 UTC+6:30		Report		Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium

Yemen  v  Sri Lanka

16 November Friendly	Yemen	0–1	Sri Lanka	Doha, Qatar
19:15 UTC+3		Report	Hingert 89'	Stadium: Al-Khor SC Stadium

Yemen  v  Sri Lanka

19 November Friendly	Yemen	2–0	Sri Lanka	Doha, Qatar
19:15 UTC+3	Mahrous 21' Hasan 95'	Report		Stadium: Al-Khor SC Stadium

2025

Laos  v  Sri Lanka

20 March Friendly	Laos	1–2	Sri Lanka	Vientiane, Laos
19:00 UTC+7	Souvanny 89'		Dekker 18' Rajamohan 55'	Stadium: New Laos National Stadium Referee: Songkran Bunmeekiart (Thailand)

Thailand  v  Sri Lanka

25 March 2027 AFC Asian Cup Q	Thailand	1–0	Sri Lanka	Bangkok, Thailand
19:30 UTC+7	Patrik 43'			Stadium: Rajamangala Stadium Referee: Zhang Lei (China)

Brunei  v  Sri Lanka

5 June Friendly	Brunei	v	Sri Lanka	Bangkok, Thailand
--:-- UTC+7

Sri Lanka  v  Chinese Taipei

10 June 2027 AFC Asian Cup Q	Sri Lanka	v	Chinese Taipei	Colombo, Sri Lanka
TBD				Stadium: Colombo Racecourse

Sri Lanka  v TBD

22 June 2025 SAFF Championship	Sri Lanka	v	TBD	Colombo, Sri Lanka
TBD				Stadium: Colombo Racecourse

Sri Lanka  v TBD

25 June 2025 SAFF Championship	Sri Lanka	v	TBD	Colombo, Sri Lanka
TBD				Stadium: Colombo Racecourse

Sri Lanka  v  Turkmenistan

9 October 2027 AFC Asian Cup Q	Sri Lanka	v	Turkmenistan	Colombo, Sri Lanka
--:-- UTC+7				Stadium: Colombo Racecourse

Turkmenistan  v  Sri Lanka

14 October 2027 AFC Asian Cup Q	Turkmenistan	v	Sri Lanka	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
				Stadium: Köpetdag Stadium

Sri Lanka  v  Thailand

18 November 2027 AFC Asian Cup Q	Sri Lanka	v	Thailand	Colombo, Sri Lanka
				Stadium: Colombo Racecourse

2026

Chinese Taipei  v  Sri Lanka

31 March 2027 AFC Asian Cup Q	Chinese Taipei	v	Sri Lanka	Kaohsiung, Taiwan
--:-- UTC+7				Stadium: Nanzih Football Stadium

Coaching staff

Nikola Kavazović became the manager of the national football team of Sri Lanka in 2014

Position	Name
Head coach	Abdullah Al Mutairi
Assistant coach	Mohamad Fawmy
Goalkeeping coach	Nishan Waseem
Performance analyst	Sanka Jayamina
Team doctor	Chathura Akalanka Edirisinghe
Physiotherapist	Saman Dayawansa
Masseur	Ruwan Jayasuriya
Kitman	Shabeer Perera
Media officer	Isuru Maduwantha
Team staff	Hiran Rathnayaka

Coaching history

• P.D. Sirisena (1976–1998)^[23]
• Neville Dias (1990)
• Burkhard Pape (199?)
• Jorge Ferreira (1993–1995)
• M. Karathu (1999–2000)
• Marcos Ferreira (2000–2004)
• Sampath Perera (2004–2006, 2009, 2015–2016)
• Jang Jung (2007–2008, 2010–2012)
• Mohamed Amanulla (2009–2010)
• Claudio Roberto (2013–2014)
• Nikola Kavazović (2014–2015)
• Dudley Steinwall (2016–2018)
• Nizam Pakeer Ali (2018–2020)
• Amir Alagić (2020–2022)
• Andy Morrison (2022–2024)^[24][25]
• Abdullah Al Mutairi (2024–present)

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were called up for the friendly match against  Laos and the 2027 ACQ match against  Thailand on 20 and 25 March 2025, respectively.^[26]

Caps and goals are correct as of 20 March 2025 after the game against  Laos.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Sujan Perera (captain)	(1992-07-18) 18 July 1992 (age 32)	56	0	TC Sports
20	1GK	Mohamed Mursith	(2001-01-04) 4 January 2001 (age 24)	0	0	Blue Star
22	1GK	Kaveesh Lakpriya Fernando	(1995-01-10) 10 January 1995 (age 30)	1	0	Blue Star
2	2DF	Anujan Rajendram	(2000-05-11) 11 May 2000 (age 25)	7	0	Strindheim IL
3	2DF	Harsha Fernando	(1992-11-21) 21 November 1992 (age 32)	36	0	Up Country Lions
4	2DF	Chalana Chameera	(1993-10-01) 1 October 1993 (age 31)	35	0	Blue Star
15	2DF	Claudio Kammerknecht	(1999-07-26) 26 July 1999 (age 25)	5	1	Dynamo Dresden
18	2DF	Barath Suresh	(2003-06-11) 11 June 2003 (age 21)	12	0	Langwarrin
19	2DF	Jack Hingert	(1990-09-26) 26 September 1990 (age 34)	7	1	Brisbane Roar
23	2DF	Jason Thayaparan	(1995-10-01) 1 October 1995 (age 29)	6	0	Eintracht Trier
20	2DF	William Thomason	(2002-06-28) 28 June 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Essendon Royals
8	3MF	Aman Faizer	(1999-03-12) 12 March 1999 (age 26)	19	0	Club Lagoons
10	3MF	Sam Durrant	(2002-02-16) 16 February 2002 (age 23)	7	0	Connah's Quay Nomads
12	3MF	Leon Perera	(1997-01-01) 1 January 1997 (age 28)	10	0	Lüneburger SK Hansa
21	3MF	Adhavan Rajamohan	(1993-02-21) 21 February 1993 (age 32)	13	1	IFK Haninge
24	3MF	Mohamed Hasmeer	(1998-01-07) 7 January 1998 (age 27)	5	0	Navy Sea Hawks
	3MF	Garrett Kelly	(1996-04-14) 14 April 1996 (age 29)	1	0	Welling United
9	4FW	Oliver Kelaart	(1998-04-16) 16 April 1998 (age 27)	10	2	Hume City
11	4FW	Rifkhan Mohamed	(1999-10-25) 25 October 1999 (age 25)	12	0	Defenders
13	4FW	Mohammed Thilham	(2005-11-18) 18 November 2005 (age 19)	1	0	New Star SC
	4FW	Ahmed Waseem Razeek	(1994-09-13) 13 September 1994 (age 30)	22	9	Eastern District
	4FW	Wade Dekker	(1994-04-21) 21 April 1994 (age 31)	7	1	Dandenong Thunder
	4FW	Rahul Suresh	(2003-05-16) 16 May 2003 (age 22)	5	0	Dandenong Thunder

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Prabath Ruwan	(1993-06-19) 19 June 1993 (age 31)	0	0	Air Force	2024 FIFA World Series
DF	Jude Supan	(1998-07-30) 30 July 1998 (age 26)	29	0	Renown	v.  Yemen, 16 November 2024
DF	Manaram Perera	(1998-06-23) 23 June 1998 (age 26)	8	0	Navy Sea Hawks	v.  Yemen, 16 November 2024
DF	Asikur Rahuman	(1993-12-31) 31 December 1993 (age 31)	29	1	Defenders	v.  Brunei, 8 June 2024
DF	Dagsan Vigneswaran	(2004-02-05) 5 February 2004 (age 21)	0	0	FC Concordia Lausanne	2024 FIFA World Series
MF	Geremi Perera	(2004-03-25) 25 March 2004 (age 21)	0	0	ATSV Erlangen	v.  Thailand, 25 March 2025INJ
MF	Dillon De Silva	(2002-04-18) 18 April 2002 (age 23)	18	2	Sutton United	v.  Yemen, 16 November 2024
MF	Steven Sacayaradjy	(1997-01-22) 22 January 1997 (age 28)	6	0	Sud FC	v.  Myanmar, 13 October 2024
MF	Tenuka Ranaweera	(2005-08-22) 22 August 2005 (age 19)	1	0	Nairobi United	v.  Cambodia, 10 September 2024
MF	Firaz Marshuk		0	0		v.  Cambodia; 10 September 2024
MF	Regize Canistan	(1997-03-25) 25 March 1997 (age 28)	0	0	FC Montceau Bourgogne	2024 FIFA World Series
FW	Shenal Sandesh	(2002-07-25) 25 July 2002 (age 22)	3	0	Up Country Lions	v.  Yemen, 16 November 2024
FW	Mohamed Aakib	(2000-06-26) 26 June 2000 (age 24)	28	3	Colombo	v.  Yemen, 16 November 2024
Notes INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Withdrew due to non-injury issue

Player records

As of 20 March 2025^[27]

Players in bold are still active with Sri Lanka.

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Channa Ediri Bandanage	65	18	1999–2009
2	Kasun Jayasuriya	56	27	1999–2009
3	Weerasinghe Sujan Perera	56	0	2011–present
4	Chathura Maduranga Weerasinghe [de]	48	7	2001–2009
5	Dudley Lincoln Steinwall	46	3	1993–2009
6	Chathura Gunaratne	39	8	2006–2013
	Kavindu Ishan	39	1	2013–present
8	Kamaldeen Mohamed Fuard	37	0	2000–2006
9	Harsha Fernando	36	0	2018–present
10	Chalana Chameera	35	0	2015–present

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Kasun Jayasuriya	27	56	0.48	1999–2009
2	Channa Ediri Bandanage	18	65	0.28	1999–2009
3	Roshan Perera	14	31	0.45	1993–2001
4	Ahmed Waseem Razeek	9	22	0.41	2019–present
	Mohamed Izzadeen	9	34	0.26	2004–2015
6	Chathura Gunaratne	8	39	0.21	2006–2013
7	Chathura Maduranga Weerasinghe [de]	7	48	0.15	2001–2009
8	Mohamed Amanulla	6	10	0.6	1995–2000
9	Mohamed Izmath Zain	3	9	0.33	2011
	Kaiz Mohammed Shafras [de]	3	12	0.25	2008–2011
	Galboda Chandradasa Karunaratne	3	12	0.25	1999–2007
	Imthyas Raheem	3	23	0.13	1995–2004
	Mohamed Aakib	3	28	0.11	2019–present
	Well Don Ruwanthilaka	3	33	0.09	2000–2011
	Dudley Lincoln Steinwall	3	46	0.07	1993–2009

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup										Qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	F	A		Pld	W	D	L	F	A
1930	Part of  United Kingdom									Part of  United Kingdom
1934
1938
1950	Not a FIFA Member									Not a FIFA Member
1954	Did not enter									Did not enter
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994	Did not qualify									8	0	0	8	0	26
1998										3	1	1	1	4	4
2002										6	1	1	4	8	20
2006										8	1	3	4	7	11
2010										2	0	0	2	0	6
2014										2	0	1	1	1	5
2018										2	0	0	2	1	3
2022										8	1	0	7	5	24
2026										2	0	1	1	1	4
2030	To be determined									To be determined
2034
Total	0/9	—								41	4	7	30	27	103

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup										AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1956 to 1968	Withdrew									Withdrew
1972	Did not qualify									3	0	0	3	1	10
1976	Withdrew									Withdrew
1980	Did not qualify									4	1	0	3	5	12
1984										4	1	1	2	6	11
1988 to 1992	Did not enter									Did not enter
1996	Did not qualify									6	2	0	4	5	25
2000										4	0	0	4	2	18
2004										8	2	0	6	6	26
2007	Did not enter									Did not enter
2011	Did not qualify									AFC Challenge Cup
2015
2019										2	0	0	2	1	3
2023										11	1	0	10	5	30
2027	To be determined									To be determined
Total	0/19	—								42	7	1	34	31	136

SAFF Championship

Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1993	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	1	1	4	2
1995	Champions	1st	3	2	1	0	5	3
1997	Semi-finals	4th	4	2	0	2	6	3
1999	Group stage	5th	2	0	1	1	2	3
2003	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	3	3
2005	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	1	5
2008	Semi-finals	3rd	4	2	1	1	5	3
2009	Semi-finals	4th	4	2	0	2	9	7
2011	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	4	6
2013	Group Stage	7th	3	1	0	2	6	15
2015	Semi-finals	4th	3	1	0	2	1	7
2018	Group stage	6th	2	0	1	1	0	2
2021	Group stage	5th	4	0	1	3	2	5
Total	13/13	1st	41	13	7	21	48	64

AFC Challenge Cup

AFC Challenge Cup										AFC Challenge Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2006	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	2	7	2		No qualifying round
2008	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	1	9		3	2	1	0	14	4
2010	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	4	7		3	2	1	0	9	4
2012	did not qualify									3	0	1	2	0	5
2014										3	1	0	2	5	5
Total	3/5	Runners-up	12	5	1	7	12	18		12	5	3	4	28	18

• In 2011 and 2015 The AFC Challenge Cup acted as the qualification for the Asian Cup.
• The AFC Challenge Cup was cancelled by the AFC.

AFC Solidarity Cup

Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2016	Group stage	6th	3	0	1	2	2	5

Head-to-head record

Last update was against   Thailand on 25 March 2025.^[28]

Country	Matches	Win	Draw	Loss	GF	GA	GD	Win/Draw %
Afghanistan	8	1	1	6	6	17	−11	25.00
Bahrain	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	00.00
Bangladesh	20	5	2	13	15	30	−15	25.00
Bhutan	8	6	0	2	20	5	+15	75.00
Brunei	5	2	0	2	6	2	+4	50.00
Cambodia	5	1	2	2	4	12	−8	20.00
China	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	00.00
East Germany	1	0	0	1	1	12	−11	00.00
Guam	1	1	0	0	5	1	+4	100.00
Hong Kong	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	00.00
India	19	2	5	12	13	32	−19	11.11
Indonesia	6	0	1	5	6	29	−23	33.33
Iran	2	0	0	2	0	11	−11	00.00
Japan	3	0	0	3	0	16	−16	00.00
Jordan	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	00.00
Kyrgyzstan	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3	00.00
Laos	8	3	2	3	13	11	+2	62.50
Lebanon	5	1	0	4	6	18	−12	25.00
Lithuania	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	00.00
Macau	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	66.66
Malaysia	10	1	0	9	7	36	−29	10.00
Maldives	20	2	9	9	16	38	−22	10.00
Mongolia	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1	50.00
Myanmar	9	2	1	6	10	20	−10	22.22
North Korea	3	0	0	3	0	8	−8	00.00
Nepal	17	6	7	4	25	19	+6	37.50
Oman	3	0	1	2	1	14	−13	00.00
Pakistan	19	8	4	7	31	25	+6	75.00
Palestine	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	00.00
Philippines	4	1	1	2	5	9	−4	50.00
Qatar	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9	00.00
Saudi Arabia	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9	00.00
Singapore	5	1	0	4	6	15	−9	20.00
South Korea	3	0	0	3	0	19	−19	00.00
Seychelles	4	1	1	2	5	8	−3	25.00
Sudan	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	00.00
Syria	3	0	0	3	0	17	−17	00.00
Tajikistan	4	0	1	3	3	11	−8	00.00
Thailand	8	0	0	8	2	23	−21	00.00
Timor-Leste	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	100.00
Turkmenistan	6	0	1	5	2	12	−10	00.00
United Arab Emirates	8	0	0	8	3	35	−32	00.00
Uzbekistan	2	0	0	2	0	9	−9	00.00
Vietnam	4	0	3	1	6	7	−1	30.00
Yemen	4	1	1	2	2	6	−4	40.00

Total	Played	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
	264	51	47	156	241	580	−339

Honours

Continental

• AFC Challenge Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2006

Regional

• SAFF Championship
  • Champions (1): 1995
  • Runners-up (1): 1993
• South Asian Games
  • Bronze Medal (2): 1993, 1995

Friendly

• Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament
  • Runners-up: 1954
  • Third place: 1952
• ANFA Cup
  • Runners-up: 2009^[29]

Summary

Only official senior honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation).

Senior Competition				Total
AFC Challenge Cup	0	1	0	1
Total	0	1	0	1

See also

• Sri Lanka women's national football team
• Sri Lanka national under-23 football team
• Sri Lanka national under-20 football team
• Sri Lanka national under-17 football team

Notes