Sri Lanka national under-23 football team

Sri Lanka U-23

Nickname(s)	සිංහ සිංහයා siṁha siṁhayā (Simha Lions)
Association	Football Federation of Sri Lanka
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	SAFF (South Asia)
Head coach	Mohamed Amanulla
Captain	Dananju Madushan
Top scorer	Zarwan Johar
FIFA code	SRI
First colours Second colours
First international
Sri Lanka 1–0 Nepal     (Islamabad, Pakistan; March 29, 2004)
Biggest win
Sri Lanka 4–0 Bhutan   (Colombo, Sri Lanka; August 21, 2006)
Biggest defeat
Palestine 9–0 Sri Lanka   (Isa Town, Bahrain; March 22, 2019)   Sri Lanka 0–9 Bahrain   (Isa Town, Bahrain; March 24, 2019)
South Asian Games
Appearances	3
Best result	Silver Medal (2006)

The Sri Lanka national under-23 football team is the national team that participates in international football tournaments, such as the Summer Olympics ^{[ not verified in body ]} and the AFC U-23 Championship representing Sri Lanka. The team has won bronze medals at the South Asian Games in 2004 and at the 2014 Lusophony Games. The Sri Lanka National U-23 Team won the silver medal at the 2006 South Asian Games, the first silver medal won by Sri Lanka at an international tournament.

Sri Lanka didn't have an official U-23 team.^{[ clarification needed ]} Before 2013, the Sri Lanka national football team participated in the Summer Olympic qualifications and other international events. Sri Lanka has yet to participate in a Summer Olympic football tournament.

History

Due to the popularity of cricket in Sri Lanka, football has not been popular. But it has gained popularity with Sri Lanka's youth in recent years, and Sri Lanka's National U-23 Football team was formed as a result. In the 2010s the Sri Lanka national football team competed in international football tournaments. The Sri Lanka U-23 team has won a silver medal and two bronze medals in competitions.^{[ citation needed ]}

The 10th edition of the South Asian Games was held in Sri Lanka in 2006. In the football tournament, Sri Lanka competed in the group stage against the Pakistan, Bhutan and Maldives U-23 football teams. Sri Lanka beat Maldives and Bhutan to qualify for the semi-final stage and beat India in penalties to qualify for the final with Pakistan. Sri Lanka won the silver medal as a result.^{[ citation needed ]} In the 2004 tournament Sri Lanka had won the bronze medal.^{[ citation needed ]}

Sri Lanka participated in the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers competition as an inexperienced football team, and failed to win a single match. They achieved a draw against Palestine, scoring their first goal in a major U-23 football tournament. They also tied with Pakistan but lost 4–0 to the powerful and experienced Syria national under-23 football team. Their fifth game was against host Saudi Arabia, and they lost 7–0, their biggest defeat in tournament play. In the last match of the qualifiers, Sri Lanka played against the Kyrgyzstan team and lost 5–0, failing to qualify for the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship tournament.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Palestine Championship tournament was organized by the Palestinian Football Association, which invited the national U-23 teams of Palestine, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Jordan to compete. Sri Lanka played all three teams and lost each match, failing to score a goal in the tournament.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Sri Lanka national U-23 football team participated in the 2014 Lusophony Games. The Sri Lanka team advanced to the semi-final stage of the tournament by defeating Macau and drew against São Tomé and Príncipe. In the semi-finals Sri Lanka lost the match against Mozambique 1–0 and won the bronze medal match against Macau 3–0. This was the first time that Sri Lanka U-23 team had placed at a major international tournament.^{[ citation needed ]}

Sri Lanka entered in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship Qualification stage with the national U-23 teams from United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen and Tajikistan. Sri Lanka lost both opening games against the host UAE and Yemen 4–0 and 5–0. They lost to Tajikistan 5–1 in the last group match. Sri Lanka scored only one goal in the tournament. After losing all three matches, Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Football Tournament.^{[ citation needed ]}

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Olympic Games finals										Olympic Games qualifications
Hosts/year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA	GD		GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
2016	Did not Qualify									3	0	0	3	1	14
2020										3	0	0	3	0	20
2024	Suspended									Suspended
2028	TBD									TBD
Total	0/2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		6	0	0	6	1	34

• Prior to the 2016 Olympic Games campaign, the senior national team played in qualification.

AFC U-23 Championship

AFC U-22 finals										AFC U-22 Championship qualification
Hosts/Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA	GD		GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
2013	Did not Qualify									5	0	2	3	1	17
2016										3	0	0	3	1	14
2018	Withdrew									Withdrew
2020	Did not qualify									3	0	0	3	0	20
2022										3	0	0	3	0	13
2024	Suspended									Suspended
2026	Did not qualify									To be determined
Total	0/7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		8	0	2	6	2	31

South Asian Games

Year	Host	Pos.	P	W	D	L	GF	GA
2004	Pakistan	3/7	4	3	0	1	2	0
2006	Sri Lanka	2/8	5	4	0	1	6	3
2010	Bangladesh	5/8	3	1	1	1	1	2
2016	India	5/6	2	1	0	1	2	3
Total			14	9	1	4	11	8

• Prior to the 2004 South Asian Games campaign, the senior national team played in the tournament.

Fixtures and results

  Win  Draw  Lose

Main article: Sri Lanka national u-23 football team results and fixtures

2025

Sri Lanka   v Saunders SC

8 August 2025 (2025-08-08) Hybrid Friendly	Sri Lanka	3–1	Saunders SC	Colombo, Sri Lanka
				Stadium: Colombo Racecourse

Qatar   v   Sri Lanka

27 August 2025 (2025-08-27) Friendly	Qatar	1–1	Sri Lanka	Lusail, Qatar
18:00  UTC+3 (22:30 SLST)				Stadium: Lusail Stadium

Syria   v   Sri Lanka

29 August 2025 (2025-08-29) Friendly	Syria	3-0	Sri Lanka	Doha, Qatar
18:00  UTC+3 (20:00 SLST)				Stadium: Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium

Uzbekistan   v   Sri Lanka

3 September 2025 (2025-09-03) 2026 AFC U23 Q	Uzbekistan	4-0	Sri Lanka	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
	Rakhmonaliev 38' Turdimurodov 41', 54' Bakhromov 70'			Stadium: Omurzakov Stadium

Sri Lanka   v   Palestine

6 September 2025 (2025-09-06) 2026 AFC U23 Q	Sri Lanka	0-5	Palestine	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
				Stadium: Omurzakov Stadium

Kyrgyzstan   v   Sri Lanka

9 September 2025 (2025-09-09) 2026 AFC U23 Q	Kyrgyzstan	6-0	Sri Lanka	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
				Stadium: Omurzakov Stadium

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Mohamed Amanulla
Assistant coach	Ratnam Justmin
Goalkeeping coach	Saman Dayawansa
Fitness coach	Marcus Ferreira
Performance analyst	Sujan Fernando
Team doctor	Chathura Akalanka Edirisinghe
Physiotherapist	Saman Dayawansa
Masseur	Ruwan Jayasuriya
Kitman	Shabeer Perera
Media officer	Isuru Maduwantha
Team staff	Hiran Rathnayaka

Squad

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1 GK	Prabath Arunasiri		2	0
12	1 GK	Dhanushka Rajapaksha		2	0
22	1 GK	Mohamed Uzman		0	0
17	2 DF	Barath Suresh		4	0	Langwarrin SC
2	2 DF	Mohammed Abdullah		0	0	Renown SC
6	2 DF	Zahi Addis		1	0	Hume City FC
13	2 DF	Mohamed Nifras		2	0
18	2 DF	Tharindu Lakmal		2	0
20	2 DF	Chameera Sajith		2	0
4	3 MF	Tenuka Ranaweera	(2007-12-10) December 10, 2007 (age 17)	1	0	Nairobi United
5	3 MF	Remiyan Muthuccumaru		2	0	FC Emmen
7	3 MF	Jada Mawango		0	0	Swansea City A.F.C.
10	3 MF	David Karunarathne(C)		3	0	Colombo FC
14	3 MF	Aditha Menuhas		3	0	UC AlbinoLeffe
15	3 MF	M. Shahil		0	0	Renown FC
21	3 MF	Shanaka Wijesena		1	0
8	4 FW	James Thomason	(2004-09-05) 5 September 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Melbourne City FC
9	4 FW	Anish Jebanathan		1	0	Funnefoss/Vormsund IL
11	4 FW	Shiyaam Sasiharan		0	0	Skeid Fotball
19	4 FW	Rahul Suresh		2	0	Dandenong Thunder SC

Honors

• South Asian Games :
  • Silver Medal : 2006
  • Bronze Medal : 2004

See also

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

External links

• Football Federation of Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka on FIFA