India maintained their stranglehold over arch-rivals Pakistan across sports as the country's football team notched a 3-2 victory in a highly-charged SAFF U17 Championship match.

India defeated Pakistan for the second time in 24 hours, this time in a SAFF U17 Championship football game.

A group of 22 men, pretending to be football players, were deported by Japanese authorities, and later exposed as part of a human trafficking ring.

FIFA, the world governing body of football, has lifted the suspension on the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) after the necessary constitutional changes were made to ensure smooth governance of the sport in the country

Pakistan men's football team is currently 197th in FIFA ranking list among 210 countries.

A British Indian, Trishan Patel, has joined the Pakistan football squad as assistant coach and performance analyst in Islamabad.

India came up with a solid performance as they hammered arch-rivals Pakistan 3-0 to win the SAFF Men's U-19 Championship in Kathmandu on Saturday.

A nerveless India overcame a sticky Nepal 3-2 through a penalty shootout in their semifinal match on Wednesday to set up the SAFF Under-19 Championship final against Pakistan.

India has been drawn in Group B along with Bhutan and Bangladesh, while Group A comprises the hosts, Maldives and Pakistan.

A huge banner tied across the West Block Blues Stand read: 'Immortal No 11'. It was a heartfelt tribute to Sunil Chhetri by the fans, who cheered every move the Indian captain made on the field

Igor Stimac was sent off after he chose to interfere when Pakistan player Abdullah Iqbal was ready to make a throw-in.

Sunil Chhetri scored a hat-trick against Pakistan in India's SAFF Championship opener, reminding fans of Virat Kohli's show in T20 World Cup 2022.

The Pakistan football team suffered a 0-4 loss to India in the SAFF Championship opener, with Sunil Chhetri scoring a hat-trick.

Sunil Chhetri led the line as India outclassed and hammered their neighbours in front of more than 22,000 fans at Sri Kanteerava Stadium.

Sunil Chhetri's glittering hat-trick laced India's 4-0 win over Pakistan in their SAFF Championship opener on Wednesday as the talisman became the second-highest Asian goal-scorer in international football

India head coch Igor Stimac stopped a Pakistan player from taking a quick throw in.

IND vs PAK SAFF Championship 2023 Highlights: A hattrick from captain Sunil Chhetri guided India to a thumping 4-0 win over Pakistan in their opening Group A match of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship on Wednesday

This is also the first football match between India and Pakistan since September 2018. On that day, India had defeated the neighbours 3-1 in the semifinal of the SAFF tournament.