Overview of India's opponents in SAFF U17 Championship

India will participate in the SAFF U17 Championship in the lead-up to the AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Bibiano Fernandes is back at the helm of the Indian U17 team, and his first assignment will be the SAFF U17 Championship 2025, which will be held in Sri Lanka from September 15 to 27, 2025. This is an important pitstop for the Indian U17 team before the all-important AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers in November.

The SAFF U17 Championship will give a perfect platform to the Blue Colts to prepare themselves for the high-stakes qualifying fixtures in the AFC U17 Asian Cup Qualifiers. India are placed in group B alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives.

In this article, we will look at the opponents that India will face in the group stage.

Also Read: India U17 head coach Bibiano Fernandes names 23-man squad for SAFF U17 Championship

Maldives

India’s first match in the group stage will be against Maldives on September 16. The island nation has not been able to leave its mark on the SAFF U17 Championship yet. They have appeared in the tournament seven times but could never qualify for the knockouts.

In the last edition, which was held in Bhutan, they finished at the bottom of Group A. Their group had the likes of India and Bangladesh. Maldives put in an impressive performance by holding Bangladesh to a draw, ending up with the same number of points, but a poor goal difference went against them. This time, they have an opportunity to defy the odds and secure their first-ever knockout qualification.

Bhutan

Two days after the tournament opener against the Maldives, the Blue Colts will face Bhutan on September 19. Bhutan have a marginally superior record than Maldives in the SAFF U17 Championship. They first appeared in the tournament in 2013. Since then, they have participated in the tournament on five occasions.

Bhutan performed their best in 2017 when they qualified for the semi-finals, finishing fourth in the end. The last edition ended on a disappointing note for Bhutan as they failed to qualify for the knockouts. They came close to making the cut with four points, but Nepal’s six points paled them.

Pakistan

India will conclude the group stage with an encounter against the arch-rivals Pakistan on September 22. The Blue Colts have been the dominant force in this rivalry. However, the last meeting between both sides in 2018 saw Pakistan edging India with a 2-1 victory.

Pakistan had a successful campaign in the last edition of the tournament in 2024. They qualified for the semi-finals after topping their group with an unbeaten record. Their form continued in the semi-finals against formidable Bangladesh, but they missed out on the final berth in penalties

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