Afghanistan Beats Sri Lanka in AFC Challenge Cup Qualifier

Afghanistan’s national football team beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in its first match at the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup qualifiers in Laos on Saturday.

Afghan striker Belal Arezou scored the goal in the 45th minute of the first half of the match played from 1:00pm to 3:00pm, Laos time.

After beating Sri Lanka, Afghanistan will next face Mongolia on Monday.

Before leaving for Laos, Afghan football coach Yousuf Kargar said that his team is fully prepared for the challenges.

“This is an honor for our national team to compete in the Asian Challenge Cup. We have prepared for this tournament for a month. We selected 23 best football players from players inside and outside country,” he told TOLOnews last week.

The AFC competition which began in 2006 is held every two years. In the current qualifiers 20 teams have been placed in five pools of four teams each. Seven teams – the five group winners and the two best second-placed – will head to the Maldives for the main round to be held next year in Male. (Tolo news)