Pakistan reached the SAFF Championship final for the first time on Saturday, beating hosts Bangladesh 1-0 in the second semi-final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.
The victory meant Pakistan reached the final of the tournament for the first time since its advent in 1993, and will face arch-rivals India in the summit clash, scheduled to be played at the same venue on Tuesday.
The enthralling knockout fixture between the Green Shirts and the hosts got off to a quiet start as neither could open the scoring in the first half.
Although both Pakistan and Bangladesh made several attempts to net the opener, the scoreboard remained intact at 0-0 until 85 minutes of action.
Pakistan eventually pulled ahead in the 86th minute through Samad, who breached Bangladesh’s defence with a calculated strike following a precise assist by Hayan Khattak, who was brought in as a substitute for Ali Uzair in the 74th minute.
With just four minutes remaining of the regulation time, the home side made desperate attempts for the equaliser, including multiple substitutions in the third minute of injury time, but Pakistan’s defence denied them a comeback and ultimately ensured a historic victory for their team.
For the unversed, the Green Shirts had started their SAFF Championship 2026 campaign with a gut-wrenching 3-2 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India, but made an immediate turnaround in their subsequent fixture, in which they outclassed Maldives 3-0.
Pakistan’s thumping victory over Maldives had lifted them to the second position, but their hopes of advancing into the knockout stage of the SAFF Championship 2026 were hinged on the outcome of the last Group B match between leaders India and Maldives.
The national team required India to win the recently concluded fixture, and the result came in their favour as the Blue Tigers prevailed 1-0 against Maldives.
