As previously reported, the Turkmenistan national football team defeated Sri Lanka 2-1 in the third qualifying round of the Asian Cup, the finals of which will be held in Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2027.
The game took place at a packed 10 thousand-seat stadium in Arkadag, which hosted a match for the Turkmenistan national team for the first time.
For the past 22 years, the Sri Lankan national team has been considered a relatively easy opponent for Turkmenistan. This is confirmed by the history of meetings of these teams at the national team level, dating back to 2003. Prior to the current Asian Cup qualifying tournament, the teams had played each other six times in official matches. Turkmenistan won five of them, keeping a clean sheet: 1-0 and 3-0 in the 2004 Asian Cup qualifying round, 2-0 in a home match for the 2006 World Cup, and 2-0 away and 2-0 at home in the 2022 World Cup qualifying round. Only once—on the 9th of October, 2004, in the capital of Sri Lanka—did they end up drawing 2-2 in the 2006 World Cup qualifying round.
Exactly 21 years after that draw, on the 9th of October, 2025, the national teams of Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka met again in Colombo, this time in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup. Clearly underestimating their opponents this time, Rovshen Meredov's men, to the surprise of many experts, set an anti-record – losing 0-1 to a team ranked 197th in the FIFA rankings for the first time, complicating their fight in Group «D» for the only spot in the 2027 Asian Cup.
Knowing they could not afford any more setbacks, the Turkmenistan national team was determined to get revenge in the return leg. The home team took the lead from the opening minutes, but were unable to capitalise on their advantage before the break. The visitors, for their part, responded with sharp counterattacks, one of which, in the 32nd minute, hit the goalpost.
For the second half, the Turkmenistan national team brought out a new forward: «Arkadag» forward Altymyrat Annadurdyyev replaced Dayanch Meredov, injecting more confidence into the team's attacking prowess. And soon, the first goal arrived. In the 52nd minute, team captain Elman Tagayev broke free of his marker and sent a brilliant left-footed shot from outside the penalty area into the right corner of the goal.
Five minutes later, Mekan Saparov doubled the score, finishing from close range a rebound off goalkeeper Sujan Perera into the net after a header by Altymyrat Annadurdyyev.
After that, it seemed the match was already decided. However, it was not to be. In the 65th minute, Sri Lanka reduced the deficit thanks to a deflection off Guychmyrat Annagulyyev's foot from Dillon De Silva's tight-angle shot.
The score could have gone either way in the remaining time. In the 79th minute, the Sri Lankans missed a real chance to save the game after De Silva burst into the penalty area and fired a low shot, but goalkeeper Resul Charyyev stopped the dangerous opportunity. And in the 83rd minute, the Turkmen side had a superb chance to score a third: Altymyrat Annadurdyyev delivered a brilliant pass to Velmyrat Ballakov, who fired a low shot from the edge of the penalty area into the right corner, but the goalkeeper leaped to the ball and prevented it from entering the net.
Two minutes later, second-half substitute Oliver Kelaart fired a dangerous shot from the penalty area under the crossbar. But Resul Charyyev also made a solid save in this episode, parrying the shot with a brilliant dive. And in stoppage time in the 93rd minute, it was goalkeeper Sujana Perera's turn to showcase his skill, stopping two powerful shots from Velmyrat Ballakov from outside the penalty area and Mirza Beknazarov from just a few metres away.
Having avenged their defeat to Sri Lanka in their away qualifying match, the Turkmen footballers retained their chances of qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup. After four rounds, they have nine points. Thailand also has nine points, having crushed Chinese Taipei 6-1 in this round at Taipei Municipal Stadium in front of 4,563 spectators. Teerasak Poephimai scored a hat-trick for the winners (4th, 62nd, and 76th minutes), while Seksan Ratri (25th) and Supachok Sarachart (45+1) each scored one goal. The hosts also added an own goal thanks to Huang Zi-ming (90+3). Kuo Po-wei (46th) scored a consolation goal for the losers.
Sri Lanka is third in Group «D» with 6 points. Chinese Taipei is at the bottom of the table, with no points yet.
The finalists in this group will qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup final tournament in the remaining two rounds, where the Turkmen footballers will host the Chinese Taipei team in Arkadag on the 18th of November, 2025, and play away against Thailand on the 31st of March, 2026.
As a reminder, 24 teams, divided into six groups, are participating in the qualifying round. The top-ranked teams will qualify for the Asian Cup.
turkmenistan.gov.tm
