Bangladesh: Pakistan revived their hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the SAFF Championship with a 3-0 victory over Maldives in their second Group B fixture at the National Football Stadium in Dhaka on Sunday.
Pakistan made an aggressive start to the contest, asserting their dominance from the opening whistle and immediately putting the Maldivian defence under pressure.
Pakistan continued to press forward and doubled their lead through Najeebullah, who produced a well-timed finish after Junaid Shah delivered an excellent cross from the left.
Najeebullah made a perfectly timed run into the box, got ahead of his marker and poked the ball home.
Unwilling to settle for a narrow advantage, Pakistan continued to dictate proceedings, maintaining possession and creating opportunities through their attacking play.
Their sustained pressure soon yielded another goal as Najeebullah Bettani doubled Pakistan’s lead with a clinical finish, further strengthening his side’s grip on the contest.
Bettani struck again before half-time to complete his brace and extend Pakistan’s advantage to 3-0, putting the Green Shirts firmly in control heading into the interval.
Pakistan had trailed 3-0 at half-time in that match before producing a spirited late comeback.
Najeebullah and Alamgir Ghazi scored in stoppage time to reduce the deficit, but India held on to secure all three points.
The 2026 SAFF Championship, running from Nov 5 to 17 in Bangladesh, features six participating teams divided into two groups. Group ‘B’ comprises Pakistan, India and Maldives, while hosts Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan are in Group ‘A’.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
Maldives will need a substantial victory over India to overtake Pakistan in the group standings and secure qualification.
For Pakistan, the emphatic win provides a timely boost after their opening defeat and puts them within touching distance of a place in the last four.
