{
  "id": 19480429,
  "title": "India need a win over Maldives to reach the SAFF Championship semis: When, how to watch",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/india-need-a-win-over-maldives-to-reach-the-saff-championship-semis",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-11T09:46:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/sport/football/india-need-a-win-over-maldives-to-reach-the-saff-championship-semifinals-1.500743620"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Defending champions India will face Maldives in the second group match of the 2026 SAFF Championship in Dhaka today. The match begins at 1.30pm IST (3pm in the Gulf). India, coached by Naushad Moosa, aims to secure a spot in the semifinals. The team, primarily composed of young talents, has recently lost several players. Substitutes Bijoy Varghese, Muhammad Suhail and Liston Colaco have been brought in for friendlies against New Zealand. The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals on November 14, with group winners and runners-up proceeding further. With several key players unavailable, Manglenthang Kipgen and Abhishek Suryavanshi are expected to be instrumental in attack and midfield. While India has a strong history in this fixture, Maldives remains a formidable opponent capable of causing problems with their counter-attacking play. The semifinals are scheduled for November 14, and the final is set for November 17 at 7:30 PM IST.",
  "summary": "Defending champions India’s second-string side takes on Maldives in a Group B match of the 2026 SAFF Championship in Dhaka today (Nov. 11, 2026) at 1.30pm Gulf time (3pm IST). India want to secure a semifinal berth. Coach Naushad Moosa’s team is expected to give another strong performance from a young squad after opening the campaign with a 3-2 win over Pakistan last week. The squad has since…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}