Pakistan beat Maldives 3-0 at the National Stadium in Dhaka on Sunday, and the scoreline did more than deliver a first win at the SAFF Championship 2026. It put Pakistan top of Group B on goal difference and left them on the edge of the semi-finals, with only one result on Wednesday able to deny them, and even that would have to be a Maldives win over India by five goals or more.
How Pakistan won in Dhaka
McKeal Abdullah opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the opening minutes, and Najeeb Ullah then struck twice, in the 8th and 23rd minutes, to put Pakistan 3-0 up before half-time. Neither side scored in the second half, and Pakistan saw out a comfortable win. It was a strong response to the 3-2 defeat against India in the opening match on 5 November, when Pakistan trailed 3-0 before two stoppage-time goals made the scoreline respectable. It was also another bright result for Pakistan football in a short spell, after Pakistan’s under-15s qualifying for their first FIFA World Cup.
The Group B table now
Group B has only three teams, and the top two reach the semi-finals. After two rounds of matches, Pakistan and India both have three points, while Maldives have none. Pakistan sit top on goal difference: they have scored five goals and conceded three, a goal difference of plus two, while India have scored three and conceded two, a goal difference of plus one. Maldives have scored none and conceded three, a goal difference of minus three. The group will be decided by the last match, India against Maldives on Wednesday, 11 November.
What Wednesday decides
An India win or a draw sends Pakistan through in second place, and Pakistan would then face the Group A winners in the second semi-final on 14 November. A Maldives win by one to four goals would leave all three teams on three points, and Pakistan would stay top of the group on goal difference, with India second. A Maldives win by four goals would even knock out India, the defending champions. The only result that removes Pakistan is a Maldives win by five goals or more, and even then Maldives must score at least six goals: a 5-0 win would leave the two sides level on goal difference and goals scored, and Pakistan would still go through on the head-to-head result, because they beat Maldives 3-0. If Pakistan finish top, they would instead face the Group A runners-up in the first semi-final on 14 November. The final is on 17 November.
Two late goals that changed the maths
Pakistan’s position is stronger because of two goals scored when the opening match was already lost. Against India, Najeeb Ullah scored in the first minute of stoppage time and Alamgir Ghazi added another three minutes later, turning a 3-0 defeat into a 3-2 defeat. Those two goals are worth two goals of goal difference, and they are the reason Maldives now need a five-goal win instead of a four-goal win. Without them, Pakistan’s goal difference after the Maldives win would be zero, and a four-goal Maldives win over India would have been enough to pass them. Pakistan also missed a penalty in the first half against India, when Shayak Dost sent his effort over the crossbar, so the margin could have been better still.
Najeeb Ullah leads the scoring chart
Najeeb Ullah, also reported as Najeebullah Bettani, has scored three goals in two matches, which makes him the tournament’s top scorer so far. He scored once against India and twice against Maldives, while India’s Suhail Ahmad Bhat is next with two goals. Pakistan are the lowest-ranked team in the group at 198th in the FIFA rankings, below India at 138th and Maldives at 172nd, and India are the defending champions, even though they have fielded a second-string squad while their first-choice players play friendly matches. The scoring chart and the group table both say the same thing: Pakistan have made a better start than their ranking suggested.
What happens next
India play Maldives in Dhaka on Wednesday, 11 November, and that result settles Group B. In Group A, hosts Bangladesh beat Bhutan 1-0 in the opening match, Sri Lanka were due to play Bhutan on Sunday evening, and Bangladesh play Sri Lanka on 11 November. Pakistan’s semi-final opponents will come from that group, and both semi-finals are on 14 November. Pakistan sport has a busy week beyond football: Pakistan’s rebuilt Test squad for Sri Lanka starts its series in Rawalpindi on Monday. For now, the footballers have done their part, and the maths is on their side. Follow more Pakistan sports news on PakMirror as the group is decided.
