The defending champions have dominated the SAFF Championship so far and will look to continue their good run of form on Thursday...
Defending champions Afghanistan face minnows Sri Lanka in the second semi-final of the 2015 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championships at the Trivandrum International Stadium, Kerala on New Year's Eve.
The Lions from Khorasan have been in astounding form with convincing victories in the group stages which saw them finish as Group B leaders. Faysal Shayesteh and Co. have scored a minimum of three goals in each game and have conceded just once. Their defence has been solid and goalkeeper Ovays Azizi hasn't had much to do between the sticks.
Afghanistan have utilised their physical strength to its optimum and with most of their players playing overseas, they have far more experienced personnel than most teams in the competition. 
There were seven changes made to the lineup for the dead rubber against Maldives but heavyweights like Masih Saighani, Ahmad Hatifie and Hassan Amin are slated to return into the first eleven. Khaibar Amani leads the charts with three goals and will be hoping to add more to his tally.
"We have to respect Sri Lanka. I was not thinking Sri Lanka can beat Nepal and they played against India very well," said Afghanistan coach Petar Segrt.
Their opponents, Sri Lanka are the lowest ranked (194th) nation in the tournament. A stoppage time goal by Mohamed Rifnas against Nepal saw the Lankans collect all three points in their first match. However, a Robin Singh brace saw them suffer a 2-0 defeat in their second game.
Sampath Perera's men have looked to defend in numbers and hope to score in an odd counterttack. How they tackle the mighty Afghans remains to be seen as so far they have struggled to keep the ball in their two matches.
Goalkeeper Sujan Pereira has been the only impressive player with his saves keeping his side in the game against Nepal. 
The stake being a place in the finals, kick-off is at 6:25 p.m. IST on 31st December at The Sports Hub in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.