Pakistan Reach SAFF Semi-Final: India vs Maldives on Wednesday Decides Group B Winner
Pakistan Reach SAFF Semi-Final: India vs Maldives on Wednesday Decides Group B Winner By Imran Javed | Published: 10 November 2026 | Category: Sports Pakistan have reached the semi-finals of the SAFF Championship 2026 — their first in eight years — and they now know who they face there. India beat the Maldives 1-0 in…
Pakistan Reach SAFF Semi-Final: India vs Maldives on Wednesday Decides Group B Winner
Pakistan have reached the semi-finals of the SAFF Championship 2026 — their first in eight years — and they now know who they face there. India beat the Maldives 1-0 in Dhaka on Wednesday, 11 November, to top Group B, and Pakistan will face Bangladesh, the Group A winners, in the second semi-final on Saturday, 14 November.
Update — Group A decided
Updated: 11 November 2026. Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 4-0 at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday, 11 November, to top Group A with six points. Shamit Shome (8′), Hamza Choudhury (44′), Farhaan Ali Wahid (53′) and Rakib Hossain (87′) scored, as Bangladesh finished with five goals scored and none conceded. Bhutan finish as runners-up on goal difference, and Sri Lanka are eliminated with one point.
The semi-finals are set for Saturday, 14 November, in Dhaka: India meet Bhutan in the first semi-final, and Bangladesh face Pakistan at 8:30pm Dhaka time (7:30pm PKT) in the second. The final is on Tuesday, 17 November, at the National Stadium in Dhaka.
Update — Group B decided
Updated: 11 November 2026. India beat the Maldives 1-0 at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday, 11 November — Suhail Ahmad Bhat’s 39th-minute penalty was the only goal — to finish top of Group B with six points. Pakistan finish second with three points, and the Maldives are eliminated without a point.
The semi-finals are set for Saturday, 14 November, in Dhaka: India meet Bhutan, the Group A runners-up, in the first semi-final, and Pakistan face Bangladesh, the Group A winners, in the second. The final is on Tuesday, 17 November. Group A — hosts Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan — is decided: Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 4-0 to top the group, Bhutan finish as runners-up and Sri Lanka are eliminated.
Pakistan sealed their place in the last four by beating the Maldives 3-0 on Sunday, 8 November, bouncing back from their 3-2 defeat to India in the tournament opener. With Wednesday’s result in, Pakistan finish second in Group B — so the semi-final is confirmed, and their opponent will be Bangladesh, the winners of Group A.
Key Facts
| Detail | What we know |
|---|---|
| Match | India vs Maldives — Group B, SAFF Championship 2026 |
| Date & time | Wednesday, 11 November 2026, 2:30pm PKT (3:00pm IST, 3:30pm Bangladesh time) |
| Venue | National Stadium (Bangabandhu National Stadium), Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Group B standings | India 6 pts (played 2, GD +2); Pakistan 3 pts (played 2, GD +2); Maldives 0 pts (played 2, GD −4) |
| Pakistan’s results | Lost 2-3 to India (5 Nov); beat Maldives 3-0 (8 Nov) |
| Semi-finals | Saturday, 14 November 2026 — SF1 2:00pm PKT, SF2 8:30pm Dhaka time (7:30pm PKT) |
| Final | Tuesday, 17 November 2026, 7:00pm PKT |
| Tournament | 15th SAFF Championship, Dhaka, 5–17 November 2026 |
How Pakistan Sealed the Semi-Final Spot
Pakistan’s campaign started with a narrow defeat. In the tournament opener on 5 November, India edged Pakistan 3-2 at the National Stadium in Dhaka. Three days later, Pakistan responded in style: a 3-0 win over the Maldives, with all three goals coming in the first half. Mckeel Abdollah opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the fourth minute, and Najeeb Ullah added two more in the ninth and 24th minutes.
That win did more than put three points on the board — it made Pakistan’s semi-final place mathematically certain. Here is why: Pakistan sit on three points with a goal difference of +2, having played both of their group games. India finished top of the group with six points from two games, while the Maldives finished without a point. Wednesday’s 1-0 win for India over the Maldives confirmed Pakistan as runners-up, and they will face Bangladesh, the Group A winners,in the second semi-final on Saturday, 14 November.
What Wednesday Decided
Wednesday’s match decided the group, and the group decided Pakistan’s semi-final opponent. India beat the Maldives 1-0 to finish top with six points, and Pakistan finish as runners-up with three.
Group A was decided in parallel: Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 4-0 on Wednesday to top the group with six points, Bhutan finished as runners-up on goal difference, and Sri Lanka were eliminated. Pakistan now know it is Bangladesh who stand between them and a first-ever SAFF final.
First Semi-Final in Eight Years
This is a significant moment for Pakistan football. The team’s last appearance in a SAFF Championship semi-final came in 2018, also in Dhaka, when they lost 3-1 to India on 12 September 2018. Manvir Singh scored twice for India and Sumeet Passi added a third, with Hassan Bashir pulling one back for Pakistan in the 88th minute. India went on to the final, where the Maldives beat them 2-1.
Reaching the last four again, eight years on, is a measure of how far this Pakistan side has come — and the 3-0 win over the Maldives, Pakistan’s first-ever victory over the island nation in the tournament’s history, was the result that made it happen. The squad now has four days between Wednesday’s decider and Saturday’s semi-final to prepare for Bangladesh, the Group A winners.
India’s Title Defence
India, meanwhile, are defending champions and chasing a record-extending 10th SAFF title. They won their ninth championship in 2023, beating Kuwait on penalties in the final in Bengaluru, and they began this year’s defence by beating Pakistan in the opener. The win over the Maldives on Wednesday confirmed them as group winners and set up a semi-final against Bhutan, the Group A runners-up.
The Maldives, ranked 173rd in the world to Pakistan’s 198th, had nothing to lose on Wednesday, but the 1-0 defeat ended their campaign without a point. Wednesday’s match in Dhaka decided the shape of Saturday’s semi-finals.
FAQs
When is India vs Maldives in the SAFF Championship 2026?
India played the Maldives on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, at the National Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. India won 1-0, with Suhail Ahmad Bhat scoring the only goal from a penalty in the 39th minute.
Has Pakistan qualified for the SAFF semi-finals?
Yes. Pakistan are guaranteed a semi-final place after beating the Maldives 3-0 on 8 November. With three points and a goal difference of +2, and having played both group games, no result in Wednesday’s India vs Maldives match can push Pakistan below second place in Group B.
Who will Pakistan face in the semi-final?
Pakistan will face Bangladesh, the winners of Group A, in the second semi-final on Saturday, 14 November, at 7:00pm Pakistan time (8:00pm Dhaka). India, as Group B winners, meet Bhutan, the Group A runners-up, in the first semi-final.
When are the SAFF Championship semi-finals and final?
The semi-finals are on Saturday, 14 November 2026 — the first at 2:00pm Pakistan time and the second at 8:30pm Dhaka time (7:30pm PKT). The final is on Tuesday, 17 November 2026, at 7:00pm Pakistan time. All matches are at the National Stadium in Dhaka.
When did Pakistan last reach a SAFF semi-final?
Pakistan last reached the SAFF Championship semi-finals in 2018, also in Dhaka, where they lost 3-1 to India on 12 September 2018. The 2026 semi-final is their first in eight years.
How did Pakistan beat the Maldives 3-0?
Pakistan scored all three goals in the first half on Sunday, 8 November. Mckeel Abdollah opened the scoring with a penalty in the fourth minute, and Najeeb Ullah added two more in the ninth and 24th minutes. It was Pakistan’s first-ever win over the Maldives in the SAFF Championship.
It has been a strong few weeks for Pakistan sport — the cricket team sealed a T20I series win over Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi — and the footballers now have a semi-final to prepare for. Wednesday’s match in Dhaka was, on paper, a game Pakistan were not playing in — but it decided everything about their weekend: India beat the Maldives 1-0, so Pakistan face Bangladesh on Saturday evening. Pakistan are in the semi-finals for the first time in eight years, and Bangladesh stand between them and a first-ever SAFF final.
