Defending champions India began their SAFF Championship 2026 campaign with a 3-2 win over Pakistan at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday, 5 November. Suhail Ahmad Bhat scored twice in the first half, and India held on after Pakistan scored twice in stoppage time.
Bhat opened the scoring in the 13th minute and doubled the lead six minutes later, and Manglenthang Kipgen added a third before half time. Pakistan scored twice in added time through Najeeb Ullah in the first minute of stoppage time and Alamgir Ghazi in the fourth, but India held on for all three points in the Group B opener. The match was the tournament opener for both sides in Group B.
The win came from a young side. India fielded a largely under-23 team under coach Naushad Moosa, with several senior players unavailable because of international commitments and the ongoing domestic season. The senior side is due to play two friendly matches away to New Zealand on 12 and 15 November, and the SAFF Championship 2026 squad was built around players who had not played together often.
Bhat made the difference in the first half. The 21-year-old Mohun Bagan striker, who comes from Srinagar, scored his first goals for the senior national team in the match. His first came in the 13th minute, when he turned home a delivery from Muhammad Suhail after India had first been denied a goal for offside. His second came six minutes later, when Abhishek Suryavanshi played a through ball that cut open the Pakistan defence.
Kipgen added the third goal before the break, and India went into half time 3-0 up. The defending champions had controlled the first half, and Pakistan had offered little in attack before the late goals changed the shape of the match.
India came into the match as defending champions and the most successful side in the competition’s history, with nine titles. Pakistan needed a result to keep their hopes of reaching the last four alive, and they will now face the Maldives on Sunday.
SAFF Championship 2026 opener turns late in Dhaka
The last minutes of the SAFF Championship 2026 opener gave India a warning about game management. Pakistan scored in the first minute of stoppage time through Najeeb Ullah, and Alamgir Ghazi added a second in the fourth minute of added time. The two goals cut the lead to one, and India had to see out the remaining minutes with Pakistan pushing for an equaliser.
Moosa said after the match that the win offered positives and lessons in equal measure. He pointed to the need for better concentration and game management after the side conceded twice in stoppage time, and he said the team would work on holding its shape late in games. India will have five days to prepare for the next match, and the coach will want the same first-half control without the late wobble.
Suhail Ahmad Bhat stars in the SAFF Championship 2026 opener
Bhat said after the match that he was hungry for more, and he described the two goals as a memorable start to the tournament. The forward made an immediate impact in his first appearance at the SAFF Championship 2026, scoring twice in the opening 19 minutes, and his performance was the main reason India took control of the match so early.
India and the SAFF Championship 2026 title race
India are the defending champions and have won the SAFF Championship nine times, more than any other side in the competition. The SAFF Championship 2026 is being played in Bangladesh from 5 to 17 November, with six teams split into two groups and the top two from each group going through to the semi-finals on 14 November. The final is set for 17 November.
India play their final Group B match of the SAFF Championship 2026 against the Maldives on 11 November at the National Stadium in Dhaka, while Pakistan face the Maldives on Sunday. India currently have three points in Group B, and a win over the Maldives would send them through to the semi-finals as group winners.