Overview
- India beat Pakistan 3-2 in Dhaka’s National Stadium on Thursday, November 5, with Suhail Ahmad Bhat scoring twice and Manglenthang Kipgen adding a goal before Pakistan’s two stoppage-time strikes made the finish tense.
- The All India Football Federation sent an initial 18-player group to the tournament and says the squad will expand to 28 players after November 9 when Indian Super League clubs must release players for the FIFA window.
- Local media reported organisational problems on arrival, including a last-minute hotel change for Pakistan and hours-long delays before rooms were allocated to the Indian team at a Gulshan Avenue hotel.
- Pakistan, coached by Nolberto Solano, have shown modest recent improvement but enter the tournament ranked 197th to India’s 138th in FIFA standings, leaving them as underdogs despite a competitive performance.
- The SAFF Championship uses a six-team, two-group format with semi-finals on November 14 and the final on November 17, and India will face Maldives next on November 11 before their squad is expected to strengthen for the knockout stage.