In the South Asian Football Association’s (SAFF) Under-17 Championship 2025 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Pakistan were beaten by India in their last group match with 3-2 after an enthralling show.

After defeating Bhutan and the Maldives in their first two group matches, Pakistan had already qualified for the knock-out stage, where they will face Bangladesh on September 25 in the first semi-final. India is also set to face Nepal in the other semi-final on the same day.

Dallalmuon Gangte scored the first goal for India in the first half, taking the lead for his team. The lead was equalled by Muhammad Abdullah from Pakistan when he scored a goal for Pakistan, just two minutes prior to the end of the first half on a penalty kick.

India again took the lead in the second half of the match, when Gunleiba Wangkheirakpam scored the second goal in the 64th minute of the match, which was again levelled by Pakistan’s Hamza Yasir after a few minutes, igniting the thrill.

India scored their third goal in the 74th minute, when Rehan Ahmed netted the winning goal for his team as Pakistan couldn’t manage to clinch any after that, hence the whistle blew.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan could probably meet each other for another face-off in the tournament’s final if both teams manage to outclass the Bangladesh and Nepal in their respective semi-finals.