India’s second string beat Pakistan 3-2, and a draw with Maldives on Wednesday wins them their SAFF group
Naushad Moosa’s side need a point in Dhaka to top Group B and reach the semi-finals, though the senior team’s trip to New Zealand has thinned their attack.
Nov 10, 2026
India’s SAFF Championship side has one job left in the group stage, and it is not a hard one on paper. Draw with Maldives at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday, 11 November, and Naushad Moosa’s team finish top of Group B. The game kicks off at 3pm IST.
This is not the India team most fans will be watching this week. The AIFF named a second-string 28-man squad for the tournament under Moosa, who coaches the under-23s, while Khalid Jamil takes the senior side to New Zealand for two friendlies. Even so, India are the defending champions, having won the title in 2023, and they have won it nine times in all.
How the group stands
India beat Pakistan 3-2 in the opening game on 5 November. Suhail Ahmad Bhat scored twice in the first half and Manglenthang Kipgen added a third. India were cruising until Pakistan scored twice in stoppage time.
Pakistan then beat Maldives 3-0 on Sunday, with all three goals in the first half: a fourth-minute penalty from McKeal Abdullah and two from Najeebullah. That left Pakistan on three points from two games with a goal difference of plus two. Maldives would need a huge win over India to overtake them.
India have three points from one game. A draw takes them to four and wins the group. Even a one-goal defeat would leave them ahead of Maldives on goal difference. Maldives, with no points and a goal difference of minus three, need to beat India by a distance.
Two problems for Moosa
The first is late goals. Moosa did not hide from the Pakistan finish. “Conceding two goals in added time is something we need to look at and learn from,” he said after the game.
The second is up front. Two of his forwards, Muhammad Suhail and Liston Colaco, have been pulled into Jamil’s squad for New Zealand along with defender Bijoy Varghese, and Mumbai City’s three players were released back to their club after the opener. On 7 November, Khel Now counted only three specialist forwards left in Dhaka. Six more players from the 28 have since joined the squad there, India TV reported a day later, among them Chennaiyin’s Brison Fernandes and East Bengal defender Sandip Mandi. I would still worry more about the thin attack than about Maldives. Suhail Ahmad Bhat scored two of the three against Pakistan, and if he picks up a knock there is not much like him in reserve.
India have usually had the better of this fixture. The last senior meeting was a friendly in Shillong in March 2025, when India won 3-0 and Sunil Chhetri scored on his return from international retirement.
What comes next
The semi-finals are on 14 November and the final on 17 November, all in Dhaka. The Group B winners play the Group A runners-up, from a group of hosts Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Topping Group B keeps India away from the Group A winners until the final.