Sri Lanka produced a top performance to beat Bangladesh 1-0 in a friendly match played on Thursday at the Sheikh Kamal Stadium, Nilphamari in Bangladesh in front of a sell-out crowd.
Mohamed Fazal scored the winning goal in the 10th minute which was a long kick from 40 metres out.
Sri Lanka is in Bangaladesh to participate in the South Asian Football Championship joined by Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan.
India are the defending champions and have claimed the title a record seven times.
Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the first half and maintained it until the end to ensure a win on the international scene after more than two years since beating Nepal 1-0 in the SAFF tournament in India in 2015.
A large number of spectators witnessed the game ahead of the South Asian Football Championship which starts on September 4.
“I am very happy about this result and we were very successful in our plan to win the match. This is the first international victory under my coaching, now we can go ahead with a victorious mind and much confidence for the tournament” said Sri Lanka coach Nizam Packeer Ali at the post match conference.
The goalscorer Mohamed Fazal said: “I am very happy to win the match and see a large crowd to watch the match”.