India begins their historic period of facing three World Cup teams in the new, elongated September-October international break, starting with the friendly against Panama in Bengaluru.
India vs Panama Match Details
Date: Friday, 25 September 2026
Time: 19:30 (IST)
Venue: Sree Kanteraava Stadium, Bengaluru
India vs Panama Match Preview
India’s trio of friendlies against World Cup teams like Panama, Brazil and Uruguay has generated excitement and controversy alike. Questions have arisen about the huge sums that are being spent by the AIFF to organise these friendlies, when the structure of the sport in the nation is also failing miserably, from which India has little to gain, having abandoned competitive football in the window by withdrawing from the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup competition. On the other hand, there is obvious excitement of witnessing some of the best international teams and the stars of the game in the flesh playing on Indian soil. The Blue Tigers themselves are carrying the disappointment of managing just one win in a year amid missing out on the Asian Cup next year. So, Khalid Jamil’s men embark on this unique journey on a bumpy road, ranked 138th in the world. They start against the CONCACAF nation Panama at Bengaluru, who also played in the recent edition in the World Cup in North America this summer, before jetting off to Kolkata to play the two once in a lifetime opportunity.
While Los Canaleros are not the most glamorous name to face like the two South American giants, they will provide their own threat that will give similar worries to India like the rest. Ranked 44th in the world, Panama qualified for only their second World Cup in history this summer but had to come out empty-handed. Despite giving a lot of worrying moments in a tough group containing Ghana, Croatia and England, the latter finishing third in the tournament, the team exited early from the group stage, finishing bottom, pointless and scoreless with four goals conceded. This will be their first game since then and they are also treating the trip to India as a warm-up for the four-nation Kirin Cup at the start of October, where they will take on New Zealand in the semifinal and if they progress, either Japan or Ecuador will be their opponent in the final. So, Thomas Christiansen’s side will take this battle seriously and this is both a scare and a challenge for the Blue Tigers.
India vs Panama Recent Form
India: WLLLD
Panama: WDLLL
India vs Panama Team News
Khalid Jamil’s selection of India’s squad for the landmark moment in the country’s football history has been eyebrow-raising. The I-League-winning coach with Aizawl FC decided against including star goalkeeper Vishal Kaith and national team mainstay Lallianzuala Chhangte in the squad, with both readily involved in the club competitions with Mohun Bagan. Their respective injuries and fitness concerns at the time of selection seemed to have played a part. However, Mariners’ centre-back Mehtab Singh has been called in to replace Ricky Meetei, who was initially named in the squad, after Bengaluru FC picked up an injury in the national camp.
Manvir Singh and Sahal Samad will be aiming to translate their excellent club form for the national team, while there is also a place for the Durand Cup final hat-trickster Edmund Lalrindika. Uncapped players like defender Pramveer and goalkeeper Som Kumar will look for their first minutes in the national jersey. At the same time, experienced centre-back Sandesh Jhingan's shock omission for occasions like these is striking. Meanwhile, Panama is bringing most players who competed in the 2026 World Cup, with some of them expected to start. The star name in their ranks is Cristian Martínez, who plays in the Champions League with Slovan Bratislava, managed by Manchester City legend Yaya Toure.
India vs Panama Predicted Lineups
India: Gurpreet Singh; Abhishek Singh, Mehtab Singh, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra; Apuia, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Samad; Ryan Williams, Manvir Singh, Edmund Lalrindika
Panama: Orlando Mosquera, Amir Murillo, Amir Murillo, José Córdoba, Andrés Andrade, Joseph Jones, Omar Valencia; Cristian Martínez, Carlos Harvey, Adalberto Carrasquilla, José Luis Rodríguez; Tomás Rodríguez
India vs Panama Squads
India
Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Som Kumar
Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Anwar Ali, Bijoy Varghese, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Jay Gupta, Pramveer, Mehtab Singh
Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ashique Kuruniyan, Farukh Choudhary, Lalengmawia Ralte, Macarton Nickson, Mohammed Sanan, Ricky Shabong, Sahal Abdul Samad
Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Irfan Yadwad, Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Ryan Williams, Vikram Partap Singh
Head Coach: Khalid Jamil
Panama
Goalkeepers: Orlando Mosquera, Marcos De León, Eddie Roberts
Defenders: César Blackman, Jorge Gutiérrez, Jair Model, Amir Murillo, Omar Valencia, Martín Krug, Andrés Andrade, José Córdoba, Jiovany Ramos, Joseph Jones, Eduardo Anderson
Midfielders: Carlos Harvey, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Cristian Martínez, José Luis Rodríguez, Victor Griffith, Daivis Murillo, Azarías Londoño, Rafael Mosquera, Giovany Herbert
Forwards: José Fajardo, Josué Vergara, Mijahir Jiménez, Tomás Rodríguez
Head Coach: Thomas Christiansen
India vs Panama Match Predictions
It is very hard to predict what India has to offer in these friendlies, as catastrophic results are expected and even scoring a single goal is a huge question mark. Even though Panama is the lesser of the challenges they are going to face in this period, it does not mean they won’t have a hard time facing them. Khalid Jamil’s men have struggled immensely in the last few years, saw their rankings drop heavily and had to face the fury of losing to Bangladesh not too long ago. Now they have elite challenges in front of them. Decent home backing, even with hefty ticket prices and Panama entering unknown territory, might give some grounds for the hosts but it won’t be enough for a poor start even before facing the mammoth fixtures.
FT Prediction: India 0-3 Panama