Capping days of anticipation, India will face Pakistan in the opening match of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship on Wednesday at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
This also marks the first time Pakistan football team playing in India since 2014, after the diplomatic relations between the two countries worsened. As the rivals battle it out, here is a look at their previous encounters.
India, which leads by almost 100 positions in the FIFA rankings, has faced Pakistan eight times before. The Blue Tigers is currently ranked in 98th position while Pakistan is in 195th place. India is the current SAFF champion, having won the cup in 2021.
Rivals since 1959
The teams first played each other during the AFC Asian Cup in 1959 which saw Pakistan winning. They clashed a total of 24 times with the Blue Tigers winning 11 of them and drawing 10 times. The Pakistan Shaheens have won thrice. But their most recent encounter with India was during SAFF Championship in 2018, in which team India won 3-1.
Team India’s previous match was against Lebanon during the Intercontinental Cup Finals held on 18th June in Bhubaneswar. Having bet the rivals 2 - 0, the Indian Team will enter the SAFF Championship with the hopes of clinching this championship and continuing their reign as champions. But as India coach Igor Stimac puts it, Pakistan could spring a surprise.
"Forget the rankings. I watch Pakistan's match against Kenya, and Pakistan was better than Kenya away from home. They created better chances, they were more aggressive, and obviously, they are defending deeper," Stimac told reporters the other day.
Team Pakistan will be flying in from Mauritius after much uncertainty as there was a delay in receiving their visas, first due to a delayed No Objection Certificate (NOC) and then a holiday at Indian Embassy.
Pakistan's most recent match was against Djibouti in the 2023 Mauritius Four Nations Cup where they lost 3-1 to the team. Things are not going well for the team after losing all five of their previous matches. As for team India, they have won four of them and drawn once.
SAFF
The 14th edition of the SAFF Championship will host a total of eight teams that include 2 guest participants namely Lebanon and Kuwait. Participating teams also include India, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan. India will face Nepal on Saturday and Kuwait on Tuesday.
