IND vs PAK Football, 2026 SAFF Championship LIVE Updates : Defending champions India open their SAFF Championship 2026 campaign against Pakistan in a Group B match at the National Stadium in Dhaka. India won a record-extending ninth SAFF Championship title after defeating Kuwait on penalties in Bengaluru in 2023. The AIFF has named a young 28-member squad for the tournament, with U-23 head coach Naushad Moosa set to lead the side in the absence of several first-team players, who will instead be part of the senior national team’s setup under Khalid Jamil for two friendlies against New Zealand later this month. Pakistan have never won the SAFF Championship, with their best finish coming in 1997 when they finished third.
India, the record nine-time champions, are in Group B alongside former champions Maldives and Pakistan. Pakistan’s best finishes in the tournament came in 1997, when they finished third, and in 2018, when they ended as joint-third. India have named a young 28-member squad for the tournament, with the senior national team’s focus firmly on the two friendlies against New Zealand in Auckland and Christchurch on November 12 and 15, respectively. Eighteen players arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday, while the remaining 10 will join the squad after being released by their respective ISL clubs for the FIFA international window next week. Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the SAFF Championship 2026 Group B opener as defending champions India take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the National Stadium in Dhaka.
