Pakistan Outclassed by India’s Under-23 Side in SAFF Championship

Defending champions India started their SAFF Championship campaign with a win thanks to a brace from young forward Sohail Ahmed Bhat. Naushad Musa’s team defeated Pakistan 3-2 in the opening match of Group ‘B’ at the Dhaka National Stadium.

In Thursday’s match, India mainly fielded an under-23 team, excluding several senior players. Even then, Pakistan could not gain any advantage.

Dominating the match from the start, India scored the first goal in the 14th minute through 21-year-old Mohun Bagan forward Sohail Ahmed Bhat. He scored his second goal six minutes later to put his team 2-0 up.

Punjab FC forward Manglengthang Kipgen scored the third goal in the 32nd minute, giving the SAFF champions a 3-0 lead at the break.

Pakistan had a chance to reduce the deficit from a penalty in the second half, but City Club footballer Shayak Dost, who plays in Bangladesh’s domestic league, sent the ball over the crossbar.

Pakistan came close to reducing the deficit in the final minutes of the match. Nazim Ullah and captain Alamgir Gazi scored two goals in quick succession in added time, but that only reduced the deficit.

After this loss, Noliberto Solano’s Pakistan will face Maldives next Sunday to keep their hopes of reaching the last four alive.