India Beat Maldives 1–0 in SAFF Championship, Set Up Bhutan Semi-Final
India beat Maldives 1–0 on 11 November at the National Stadium in Dhaka to finish first in Group B of the 2026 SAFF Championship. Suhail Ahmad Bhat converted a 38th-minute penalty and goalkeeper Priyansh Dubey protected the lead through stoppage time. India’s next match is the semi-final against Bhutan on Saturday, 14 November, at 2:30 p.m. IST.
The All India Football Federation match report confirms the score, the group standings and the semi-final pairing. India ended the group with six points from two wins. Pakistan finished second on three points, and Maldives finished third without a point. Bhutan qualified from Group A as runners-up.
How Suhail Bhat put India ahead
Bhat had already tested Maldives goalkeeper Hussain Shareef at the near post before India won the penalty. The move started with Abdul Rabeeh dispossessing Hussain Sifaau Yoosuf. The defender then brought Rabeeh down inside the box. Bhat sent Shareef the wrong way and tucked the penalty into the bottom-left corner.
It was Bhat’s third goal of the tournament. He had scored twice in the first half of India’s opening 3–2 win against Pakistan, when Manglenthang Kipgen supplied the other goal. That makes Bhat responsible for three of India’s four goals in the group stage. Against Maldives his scoring contribution came from the spot, but his earlier effort also gave Shareef work to do in open play.
Why Priyansh Dubey mattered after half-time
India coach Naushad Moosa changed seven starters after the Pakistan match. Dubey came in for Arsh Anwer Shaikh in goal, and Chinglensana Singh Konsham took the captaincy. At half-time Irfan Yadwad and Kipgen replaced Rabeeh and Nickson. Vishnu PV then came on for Bhat in the 65th minute, with the score still 1–0.
Maldives had several chances to equalise late. Dubey stopped an Ali Hamdhaan free-kick in the 79th minute and saved an effort from Muzdhaan Hassan five minutes later. In added time he closed down Ethan Ibrahim Zaki and blocked a close-range attempt with his face. The sequence explains why the final margin stayed at one goal even as Maldives found opportunities to draw level.
Moosa had asked for better concentration and game management after India’s first group match. India had led Pakistan 3–0 before conceding twice in stoppage time. In the second game the defence and goalkeeper had only one goal to protect. The clean sheet was an improvement in the outcome, and Dubey’s workload in the final minutes showed how close the lead came to disappearing again.
What topping Group B means for India
India’s six points came from the 3–2 win over Pakistan and the 1–0 win over Maldives. The defending champions therefore finished three points clear of Pakistan, with four goals scored and two conceded across the two games. The group position determines the opponent for the next round. India, as Group B winners, play the second-placed team from Group A.
The Bhutan semi-final brings a different match situation. India no longer has another group fixture to recover points in, and the chance to reach the final turns on this one game. The group stage showed two ways India could build a lead, through an early run of goals against Pakistan and a single set-piece opportunity against Maldives. The recurring test was what happened in the closing minutes.
India will also enter the knockout stage having used two different starting goalkeepers. Moosa’s choice against Bhutan will show how he weighs Dubey’s performance in the final group match against the line-up that began the tournament.
For fans checking the schedule in India, Saturday’s kick-off is 2:30 p.m. IST on 14 November. The federation’s fixture confirmation is the reference for the time. For anyone catching up on the group finale first, the decisive moments were Bhat’s 38th-minute penalty and Dubey’s three interventions from the 79th minute onward.
