Nepal and Sri Lanka, rank pre-tournament outsiders, will clash in the first semi-final of the AFC Challenge Cup on Wednesday at the MA Aziz Stadium here.

For Sri Lanka, it is a revival beyond imagination after the team was disbanded following their disastrous performance in the SAFF Championship last December while Nepal, on the other hand, had to bank on a favour by Bhutan despite some rock-solid display of football in the group stages.

The teams have so far faced each other on eight occasions in which Sri Lanka won four times and Nepal twice. Two other matches ended in draws.

“We won’t have to go through the tension of qualification now and the morale of our players is also quite high after the victory over India in the quarter-final," Nepal coach Shyam Thapa told www.the-afc.com.

“Sri Lanka have defeated good sides so far in the tournament and their players are physically stronger than ours. They are also used to play in these hot conditions," he said.

“It is very difficult to move fast in hot temperature. In the quarter-finals also our players failed to impress in the second half. I hope they perform their best against Sri Lanka because it will be a big achievement for our team to reach AFC Challenge Cup final."

“I feel both the teams will have equal chances of going into the summit clash.

Pradeep Maharjan and our captain Basanta Thapa are still recovering from injuries but I am confident they will be fully fit for the crucial tie."

Sri Lanka coach Sampath Perera said: “We played a 1-1 draw with Nepal in the group stage but the combination of our players was not good then. Now, the team is well settled and their morale is also very high."

“It will be a tough match but I am confident that we can go to the final."