SAFF U17 Championship 2025: Who will India face in the group stage?

India are SAFF U17 defending champions

India has been drawn in Group B of the SAFF U17 Championship 2025 alongside Pakistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The Racecourse Ground in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is all set to host the tenth edition of the tournament starting from September 15. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-final stage.

This will be the second time Sri Lanka hosts the SAFF U17 Championship, having previously organised the event in 2022. The Blue Colts have been on a remarkable run, clinching a hat-trick of titles across the last three editions in both the U16 and U17 categories.

As defending champions, India will be keen to continue their regional dominance in South Asian football. Let us take a look at the teams placed in both Group A and Group B.

India and Pakistan have been put together in Group B

Group A has a total of three teams that include host Sri Lanka, defending runners-up Bangladesh and Nepal. Bangladesh enter this group as one of the clear favourites to emerge as the table toppers, but they are expected to face stiff competition from Nepal and Sri Lanka too.

Group B will feature four teams. Interestingly, India and Pakistan have been grouped together alongside Bhutan and Maldives. The Blue Colts’ brilliant track record suggests that it might seem like a cakewalk for them to finish among the top two teams, if not the group topper.

A close look at India’s group stage opponents

Neither Bhutan nor the Maldives have ever made it to the finals of the SAFF U17 Championship in the past editions. Only archrivals Pakistan seem to offer minor reluctance to the Blue Colts, as they have previously won the competition in 2011.

That was a long time, but Pakistan also managed to make it to the finals in the 2018 SAFF Championship in the U15 category. India’s recent form suggests that they are unarguably the best team in this competition and might even have a shot to win it for the fourth consecutive edition.

Looking at the current geopolitical turmoil between both nations, it will be interesting to see if the Blue Colts will ply their trade against Pakistan in the upcoming SAFF U17 Championship or not.

Who might India face in the knockout rounds?

The Blue Colts under Ishfaq Ahmed will most likely face either Nepal or Sri Lanka in the semi-finals and Bangladesh in the Finals. Nepal have made it to the SAFF Finals four times, but have failed to secure a victory in any of the past four final appearances.

Though Sri Lanka has just made one semi-final appearance back in 2022, they might emerge as the dark horses. Their added advantage of playing at home will add to their benefits, and they would be keen to play their first final on their home turf.

Bangladesh could offer a serious threat to India’s title ambitions. The second most successful team in this competition, the young Bangla Tigers, have previously won the tournament back in 2015 and 2018. They will most likely play the finals against India on September 27th.

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