India beat Pakistan 3-2 in SAFF Championship opener as Bhat's brace survives late Pakistan fightback
Defending champions India survived a late Pakistan fightback to win 3-2 in their SAFF Championship opener in Dhaka, with Suhail Ahmad Bhat's first-half brace and a Manglenthang Kipgen strike proving just enough.
Defending champions India opened their SAFF Championship 2026 campaign with a hard-fought 3-2 win over arch-rivals Pakistan at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday, 5 November, surviving a dramatic late fightback that turned a comfortable lead into a nervy finish.
India looked to be cruising after a superb first half. Suhail Ahmad Bhat scored twice inside the opening 20 minutes, opening the scoring in the 14th minute and doubling the lead in the 20th, before Manglenthang Kipgen added a third in the 32nd minute to put the defending champions 3-0 up at the break.
Pakistan, however, refused to fold. After a second half in which India could not add to their tally, the underdogs struck twice in stoppage time, with Najeeb Ullah scoring in the 91st minute and Alamgir Ghazi adding a stunning effort in the 94th minute, to set up a tense finale that India just about survived.
The result puts India on top of the Group B table with three points and a goal difference of plus one after the first round of fixtures. The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals, which are scheduled for 14 November, with the final to be played on 17 November.
Bhat was the story of the first half. The forward's quick-fire double gave India the perfect start, and Kipgen's first international goal — a composed finish in the 32nd minute — appeared to have settled the contest before half-time. Pakistan had their own chance to change the shape of the game in the first half, but Shayak Dost missed a penalty that would have pulled a goal back.
India arrived in Dhaka as nine-time winners of the regional tournament, chasing a record-extending tenth title, and they began their defence with a depleted, second-string squad. Head coach Naushad Moosa had only 17 players available for the opener, and the fixture fell outside the official FIFA international window of 9 to 17 November, which limited the players the team could call upon.
That context made the first-half display all the more impressive, but the second half told a different story. India sat deeper, created little, and allowed Pakistan back into a match that had looked finished. The two stoppage-time goals exposed a casualness that will concern Moosa, even if the three points were secured.
For Pakistan, the late goals were at least a measure of consolation — and a warning to the rest of the group. Having trailed by three at the break, they kept pushing until the final whistle, and Ghazi's strike in the 94th minute was the pick of the goals in the match, a fierce falling volley into the near post after an exquisite first touch.
The win continues India's dominance of this fixture in the SAFF Championship. India had beaten Pakistan 4-0 in their previous meeting in the tournament, in Bengaluru in 2023, and have now won the regional title in nine of the 14 editions played since 1993, finishing runners-up four times.
India will next face the Maldives on 11 November in their final group-stage fixture, knowing that a win would seal their place in the semi-finals. Pakistan, meanwhile, must regroup quickly from a defeat that still carried encouragement in its closing minutes, with their late rally offering something to build on in their remaining group games.
The opener also set the tone for a tournament that runs until 17 November in Dhaka. With Bangladesh hosting Group A alongside Bhutan and Sri Lanka, and India and Pakistan contesting Group B, the early evidence is that the holders will need to be sharper for the full 90 minutes if they are to add a tenth title to their record.
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