India vs Maldives Preview: Predicted Lineups, Team News | SAFF Championship 2026

Despite major changes the Blue Tigers are gearing up for the next clash.

India will look to cap off a perfect group stage of their SAFF Championship 2026 campaign when they face Maldives at the National Stadium, Dhaka, on Wednesday 11th November, 2026.

The Blue Tigers look to keep their positive momentum going with another dominant attacking display against the struggling Maldives side, who will look to scratch and claw their way to a possible big result against the SAFF 2026 Championship favourites.

The Blue Tigers head into this match after a close 3-2 victory over Pakistan in the opening game of the 2026 SAFF Championship. Suhail Bhat scored a brace for the Blue Tigers, with Kipgen scoring the 3rd for India before the end of the first half. Pakistan later scored two goals in quick succession but were unable to stage a comeback to upset the defending champions.

Maldives on the other hand, are coming off a disappointing 3-0 loss to Pakistan, where the Falcons scored all 3 goals in the first half of the match. Despite having considerably good possession against Pakistan, Maldives found themselves goal less during the entire match.

The Stakes

India

The defending champions were able to kick off their 2026 SAFF Championship campaign off to a pretty impressive start, earning a hard-fought 3-2 win over rivals Pakistan in their first game.

However, the worrying end to that game and some sloppiness in the Blue Tigers’ final product mean that Naushad Moosa will be urging his players to show major improvements against the Maldives. The Blue Tigers will look to be innovative and fast-paced with their attacking moves, needing to be smart in creating chances and then finishing them off in ruthless fashion.

A high-scoring win for the Blue Tigers will enable them to head into the semifinals with a lot of momentum behind them, but dropping points to this struggling Maldives side can be particularly demotivating.

Maldives

The Maldives side suffered an embarrassing loss to Pakistan in their opening game of the SAFF Championship and need to produce something special to be able to get back against India. They are now poised to face the nine-time SAFF Championship winners and need to be at their prolific best to get the better of the Blue Tigers.

The Maldives players must work hard to keep a particularly strong defensive shape against the Blue Tigers in their upcoming match to keep them quiet. They’ll also need to be clinical on the transitions and set-piece scenarios to be able to pose a major threat to the Indian players.

A possible win for the Maldives can enable them to move into the knockout rounds at India’s expense, which will be a huge achievement, but anything but that will result in a bitter exit.

Team News

Naushad Moosa should have more players at his disposal for this clash, including the likes of Liston Colaco, Chinglensana Singh, Macarton Nickson and Irfan Yadwad.

Also Read: India reshuffle SAFF Championship 2026 squad ahead of Maldives clash

Maldives should have the same squad as they did in the previous game against Pakistan.

Head-to-Head Record

Matches Played – 18

India wins – 13

Maldives wins – 3

Draws – 2

Predicted Lineups

India (4-2-3-1)

Arsh Anwar (GK), Abdul Rabeeh, Chinglensana Singh, Nikhil Prabhu, Muhammed Uvais, Rick Shabong, Macarton Nickson, Kipgen, Irfan, Suhail Bhat, Brison

Maldives (3-4-1-2)

Hussain Shareef (GK), Hussain Sifaau, Amdaan Ali, Ali Samooh, Ahmed Rasheed, Ibrahim Hassan, Ibrahim Aisham, Mohamed Naim, Ahmed Aiham, Ibrahim Mahudhee, Ali Fasir

Players to Watch Out For

Suhail Bhat (India)

For Suhail Bhat, the ongoing 2026 SAFF Championship is the perfect platform to prove why he can be an ideal candidate for the no.9 role in the India national team.

The Mohun Bagan forward had a great start to the tournament by scoring a brace against Pakistan, proving his impressive acumen inside the opposition penalty area. Bhat will look to continue being a thorn for the opposition defenders, using his clever off-the-ball movement ability to dart past their marker into the danger zones.

He will look to link up smartly with teammates to help create chances, but for Bhat, the priority remains to sniff out chances and get at the end of them to convert opportunities clinically to help India get another big win.

Ali Fasir (Maldives)

The 38-year-old Ali Fasir is still going strong for the Maldives national side and remains one of the most prolific players in their team. Fasir will probably get a chance to impress against India, and he’ll look to utilise his high experience levels to make a prominent impact in the game.

Fasir might not be the quickest anymore, but he’ll look to be smart with his movement and make the right runs into the penalty area. Of course, he’ll have to help his side out defensively by winning duels and making things difficult for the Indian players in their progression of the ball.

But Fasir needs to be smart with his positioning in the danger zones and look to finish off whatever comes his way to help the Maldives side be able to pull off a surprise against the Blue Tigers.

Did you know?

• India have won the SAFF Championship a record-setting nine times in the tournament’s history.
• Maldives have only been able to win one of their eight matches in 2026 so far.
• India got a smashing 3-0 win over the Maldives in their previous encounter in March, 2025.

Telecast Details

The India vs Maldives clash will take place at the National Stadium, Dhaka, on Wednesday (11 November, 2026).

The match will kick off at 3 PM IST. It will be streamed live on the Veto app.

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