India beat Pakistan 3-2 in SAFF Championship opener

India beat Pakistan 3-2 in the SAFF Championship in Dhaka on Thursday (November 5, 2026). The match was a Group B opener.

Defending champion India opened its SAFF Championship campaign with a three-goal first half, courtesy of a brace from Suhail Ahmad Bhat and a strike from Manglenthang Kipgen that put the side 3-0 ahead at the interval.

Pakistan scored twice in stoppage time through Najeeb Ullah and Alamgir Ghazi but could not level the match. India 3 (Suhail Ahmad Bhat 13, 19; Manglenthang Kipgen 31) bt Pakistan 2 (Najeeb Ullah 90+1, Alamgir Ghazi 90+4).

Coach Naushad Moosa named a 17-player squad for Thursday’s (November 5, 2026) match because Indian Super League clubs had not released some of their players and the fixture does not fall within the FIFA match window (November 9 to 17).

India’s next Group B fixture is against Maldives on November 11, and the clubs are expected to release their players for that match.