SAFF U20 Championship 2026: India beat Pakistan 3-0 to qualify for semi-finals

The Indian football team began its SAFF U20 Championship 2026 campaign with a 3-0 win against Pakistan at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives, on Thursday.

The win helped India move into the semi-finals of the SAFF U20 Championship, while knocking out rivals Pakistan, who had lost 2-0 to Bangladesh in their opening match of the tournament.

Vishal Yadav (3’) gave the Blue Colts an early breakthrough before a second-half brace by Omang Dodum (64’, 88’) secured a convincing win.

It took just three minutes for India to break the deadlock after Gurnaj Singh showed great vision with a lofted through ball in the box to find Vishal, who controlled the ball under pressure and beat the keeper at the near post.

Despite falling behind, Pakistan created better chances in the first half. Najeeb Ullah had a couple of good chances to equalise, including a one-on-one situation, but the Indian goalkeeper Suraj Singh came out on top on both instances as India led 1-0 at the break.

Pakistan also began the second half brightly but failed to make the most of their chances, while India capitalised on their moments to take the game away from their rivals.

The Blue Colts doubled their lead just past the hour mark as Dodum timed his run into the box intelligently, latching onto a cushioned header from a crossfield diagonal before nodding past the Pakistan goalkeeper to make it 2-0.

Pakistan’s Najeeb Ullah threatened to spark a comeback but failed to capitalise on a flurry of chances in the next few minutes, while India were handed a penalty after Prashan Jajo was brought down inside the box with three minutes to play.

Omang Dodum then struck the ball into the top corner to wrap up the victory.

India will take on Bangladesh - their only other opponent in Group B - in their next SAFF U20 Championship match on Saturday.

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