Sri Lanka will take on Palestine in the inaugural 2013 AFC under 22 Soccer Championship in a Group B qualifier at the King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, tonight.
The other teams in this group include hosts Saudi Arabia, Kyrgystan, Pakistan, Syria and will be held in the Kingdom at seven different venues till July 3.
The teams are divided into six groups. The top two teams will qualify for the tournament proper next year along with the best third placed teams from the groups.
Group ‘A’: United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Oman, India, Turkmenistan, Lebanon.
Group ‘B’: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka.
Group ‘C’: Bahrain, Iran, Tajikistan, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives.
Group ‘D’: Uzbekistan, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nepal. Group ‘E’: Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Macau, Timor Leste.
Group ‘F’: North Korea, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Laos, Cambodia.
Group ‘G’: South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei, Philippines.
A 20-member Sri Lankan team led by Nipuna Devinda Bandara arrived from Colombo to take part in this tourney.
Sri Lanka’s other matches are on June 25, with Pakistan at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium, June 28, with Syria at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium, June 30 with Saudi Arabia at King Fahd International Stadium, July 3, with Kyrgystan at King Fahd International Stadium.
