Sri Lanka eye winning start against Bhutan in SAFF opener

Daily Mirror Sport, ThePapare, Ada Derana and Hiru News report that Sri Lanka drew 2-2 with Bhutan in their opening Group A match of the 2026 South Asian Football Federation Men’s Championship. Daily Mirror Sport and ThePapare say the fixture was played at Bangabandhu National Football Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

ThePapare reports that Bhutan took the lead through Dawa Tshering in the 34th minute, before Oliver Kelaart levelled for Sri Lanka a minute later. ThePapare says Kelaart then assisted Waseem Razeek’s 43rd-minute goal, giving Sri Lanka a 2-1 half-time lead.

ThePapare reports that Bhutan captain Chencho Gyeltshen missed a penalty saved by Sri Lanka goalkeeper and captain Sujan Perera in the 67th minute, but equalised in the 76th. ThePapare says both teams pressed for a winner, but the score remained level.

ThePapare reports that Sri Lanka entered the match without several defensive players—Jason Thayaparan, Claudio Kammerknecht and Anujan Rajendram—who were absent from the starting lineup because of club commitments in Europe. The outlet says the team hopes they will return for the match against hosts Bangladesh on Wednesday night, November 11. ThePapare also reports that Bhutan had lost narrowly to Bangladesh in its opening match and that Bangladesh had secured a semi-final place following this draw.

Newswire reports that Sri Lanka coach Abdullah Al Mutairi criticised the match officials after the game, arguing that Bhutan’s penalty should not have been awarded and alleging that Sri Lanka were denied a penalty. Newswire says he also claimed Bhutan’s equaliser may have been offside, called for VAR to be used from the group stage and raised concerns about officiating ahead of Sri Lanka’s match against Bangladesh. He suggested the tournament organisers should stage a Bangladesh-India final if commercial considerations were driving the competition.