India 3-0 Pakistan Highlights, SAFF U20 Championship: Dodum, Vishal Shine As Blue Colts Secure Dominant Victory

Good afternoon, football fans! This is the start of our live blog covering the India-Pakistan match in the SAFF U20 Championship. Stay tuned for pre-match updates and line-ups as they are released.

• Fixture: India U20 vs Pakistan U20

• Series: SAFF U20 Championship 2026

• Venue: National Football Stadium, Male, Maldives

• Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026

• Time: 4:15 PM IST

The India vs Pakistan match in the SAFF U20 Championship 2026 will be live-streamed for free on the Sportzworkz YouTube channel.

Bangladesh defeated Pakistan 2-0 in the opening match. With zero points and a -2 goal difference, this is a must-win game. A loss today would effectively end their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals.

This is the tournament opener for the Blue Colts. A victory today would almost certainly guarantee them a spot in the knockouts before they face Bangladesh on March 28.

In their last outing on March 24, 2024, Pakistan U20 suffered a 2-0 defeat against Bangladesh at the National Football Stadium in Malé.

The match was a tale of two halves, with Pakistan showing defensive resilience early on but struggling to create clear-cut chances in the final third.

Pakistan's defense, led by goalkeeper Kashif, successfully fended off several early Bangladeshi attacks. The teams went into the halftime break level at 0-0.

Bangladesh finally broke the deadlock in the 54th minute through a spectacular free-kick by debutant Ronan Sullivan.

In the 60th minute, Pakistan appeared to have equalized through a Najeeb Ullah header. However, the referee controversially disallowed the goal for a foul on the goalkeeper, despite replays suggesting minimal contact.

Ronan Sullivan doubled his tally in the 67th minute with a glancing header, effectively ending Pakistan's comeback hopes.

The match is underway. India is attacking from left to right in their iconic blue jersey. Pakistan are building up from right to left and are in their whites. India look to retain possession and hit Pakistan with their first attack right from the word go.

India are off the blocks with flying colours. They immediately pushed Pakistan under pressure from the kick-off and it didn't take them more than a couple of minutes to break their defence. Two attempts were already taken on goal and on the third attempt they score. Gurnaj Singh Grewal lofted a pass in behind to the feet of Vishal Yadav and he slotted the ball into the net. A long game awaits for Pakistan.

The first ten minutes were controlled by India. Pakistan were hit by the first wave of attack from India and they tried to get the equaliser. But despite Pakistan moving up the pitch, India controlled the pace of the game by retaining possession and an organised press in the midfield. Pakistan have to stitch more organised attacks to break through.

Pakistan got a big opportunity but they failed to convert it. A cleared ball from the Indian defence fell gently to the legs of Muhammad Junaid, with Indian goalkeeper out from his line. Junaid only had to lob it over. Although he attempted the lob, he didn;t get the right connection and the ball sailed over the goal. Meanwhile, despite controlling possession, India failed to create a threatening situation.

India have not created a lot after they scored the goal. Their focus has been more on controlling possession and build up. Pakistan, on the other hand, have tried to get the equaliser but has remained unsuccessful so far. Khobaib Khan had the opportunity to take a shy at the goal, but the shot went wide. India retain their lead as the first half enters its last quarter.

Pakistan grow gradually in the game and they create multiple goal-scoring chances. First Najeeb Ullah finds himself through on the goal after receiving a pass from behind by Junaid. But his shot angle iis narrowed down by Suraj Singh and he denied Najeeb from scoring. Pakistan create multiple attacks even after that but fail to convert the chances. India will have to play out of the tricky phase.

A completely contrasting start and end of the half. Pakistan dominated the last five minutes and India defended desperately to hold on to their lead. Pakistan pressed high and continued to regain possession and circulate to attack again. They failed to get the goal before the end of the first half and India will be relieved. It was not the case when India started the half on a high and scored first. Vishal Yadav gave India the lead and since then they have tried to control possession. But Pakistan grew back into the game and could have scored multiple goals.

Pakistan have started the second half where they left towards the end of the first half. While India retain possession, they have barely been able to attack as Pakistan's aggressive press keep them out of the danger zones. Pakistan also created chances whenever they had the possession. The Blue Colts are under pressure here.

Not much happened in the last ten minutes. Both India and Pakistan stay engaged in midfield battle trying to create penetrating attacks. But none were able to effectively open the face of the goal. Pakistan are the side who will need to have more urgency here as they are training a goal to nil. India, meanwhile are looking for the insurance goal.

Drama unfolds. Pakistan are denied a penalty and from the counter attack India score and double their lead. It is the combination between Omang Dodum and substitute Rishi Singh that results in the goal. A long pass comes square to Rishi who heads and releases Omang free into space. The goalkeeper charges but Omang reaches it first with his head and the ball trickles into the back of the net. India have found their cushion goal.

Pakistan continue to build attacks but they have not been able to find the net. Najeeb Ullah carried the ball from the left side and tried to find the goal but the difficult angle made the ball go wide. They keep on bringing the ball upto the penalty box but India has defended well. Blue Colts also tried a counter attack but the Pakistan defence countered the threat well with Abdul Rehman throwing in a sliding tackle executed perfectly.

Omang Dodum scores from a penalty and that should be the game for them. Dodum received a ball from the left and cuts in to pass it to Prashan Jajo. Jajo was brought down as he dribbled past a player in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Dodum stepped up for the penalty and his high shot smashed into the net. India are dominant here. Earlier, Malem Thokchom was denied by the Pakistani goalkepper, otherwise, the lead could have been larger.

Referee blows the final whistle and that confirms India's victory. They have secured a comfortable 3-0 win against Pakistan and that means India and Bangladesh will progress from Group B. Pakistan are now eliminated. While the scoreline reflects a one-sided performance in favour of India, but in reality Pakistan have played some good football for a significant portion of the match. But while India took their chances, Pakistan were not able to do the same. Vishal Yadav and Omang Dodum were the scorers for India with the later scoring a brace. India will play Bangladesh to decide to finish as group leaders.