Pakistan face India in SAFF Championship semi-final today

DHAKA: Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India in the semi-final of the ongoing SAFF Championship 2018 today.

This will be Pakistan’s first appearance in the semi-final after 13 years where they will take on India, the only unbeaten side in the competition so far.

India were placed in Group B alongside Sri Lanka and the Maldives while Group A consisted of Nepal, Pakistan, hosts Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

Pakistan began their campaign in the championship with a 2-1 win over Nepal in Group A. However, they lost their second group game, 1-0 to hosts Bangladesh before ending their group stage with a 3-0 win over Bhutan.

Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were all tied on six points in Group A but the former two teams progressed to the semi-final stage courtesy of a better goal difference.

On the other hand, India started their tournament with a 2-0 win against Sri Lanka and then defeated Bhutan 2-0 before progressing to the semi-final.

Head to head, India have the upper hand against Pakistan in football.

Out of the 23 times, the two sides have met, India have won 10 games while Pakistan have won just three. Meanwhile, 10 games between the two sides have ended in a draw.

The last time the two sides met was during the 2013 SAFF Championship where India beat Pakistan 1-0.

The tournament is taking from September 4 to September 15 in Bangladesh.