SAFF Championship 2026: India (Indian Football Team) defeated Pakistan (India vs Pakistan) at the beginning of SAFF Championship campaign. The defending champions won 3-2 in the match between two arch rivals at the National Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Suhail Ahmed Bhat scored two goals for India. A goal by Manglenthang Kipgen. Pakistan tried to get back into the fight by scoring two consecutive goals towards the end of the match. But in the end they could not take away the victory.
Suhail’s double goal in the beginning
India can be seen playing attacking football from the beginning of the match. Suhail Ahmed Bhat played an important role in the attack of the team. India took control of the match with his double goals. On the other hand, Pakistan had a golden opportunity to reduce the gap in the first half. Shayak Dost could not use the opportunity to score from the penalty. His penalty miss was a big blow for Pakistan.
Kipgen scored the third goal for India
Manglenthang Kipgen scored the third goal for India after Suhail’s two goals. India increased the gap with his goal. At that time, it seemed that Sunil Chhetri’s successors would leave the field with an easy victory. But Pakistan tried to change the picture in the last minute of the match. Before the final whistle, they ramped up their attack, and that made for a dramatic situation.
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Pakistan scored two goals in the last minute
Adil Nabi’s goal in the 92nd minute of the match reduced the gap for Pakistan. Then in the 94th minute Alamgir Ali Khan’s quick goal made the difference 3-2. Pakistan raised hopes of returning to the match by scoring two goals in a row. The Indian defense had to come under a lot of pressure in the last minute. However, India secured victory by handling the rest of the time. In the end, the defending champions left the field with three points.
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India aiming for 10th SAF title
India’s aim in this year’s SAFF Championship is to win the trophy for a record tenth time. The Indian team is entering this competition as last year’s champion. So a win against Pakistan at the start will undoubtedly boost the team’s confidence. However, conceding two goals at the end raised some questions about the defense of the Indian team. One of the team’s goals will be to improve on this spot in the next matches.
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India ahead in FIFA rankings
There is also a big difference in the position of the two teams in the FIFA rankings. Before entering the tournament, India was ranked 138, while Pakistan was ranked 197. The past statistics of the two teams in international football are also in favor of India. The two nations had met a total of 29 times at the senior level before Thursday’s match. Out of these, India won 16 matches, Pakistan won four and the remaining nine matches were drawn.
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The memories of 2023 returned, this time India’s victory
The two teams last met in the 2023 SAFF Championship, in Bengaluru. India defeated Pakistan 4-0 in that match. Captain Sunil Chhetri scored a hat-trick. India eventually won the title of that competition as well. This time the team started a new campaign with a 3-2 win in Dhaka. However, Pakistan’s comeback attempt at the last moment showed how hot the competition is. India’s defense will need to be more alert if they want to go ahead with their quest for a tenth title.