Kolkata: Defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant will take on arch-rivals and 29 times champion East Bengal FC in the IFA Shield 2026 final at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on October 8 with kick off slated at 6:15 PM IST.
This Derby will be the 5th time both Bengal giants will face each other in 2026 and 4th in 2026-27 season.
The first meeting ended 1-1 in the Indian Super League 2025-26 in May before Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal 1-0 in the Durand Cup 2026 opener in July. East Bengal avenged with 4-1 victory over the Mariners in the Durand Cup final the following month.
Their most recent meeting, in the Calcutta Football League (CFL) in September ended 1-1.
In IFA Shield 2026 considering recent forms, Mohun Bagan started their group stage with 6-0 win over Sreenidi Deccan while NorthEast United FC held them 1-1. In semi final, they finished 0-0 in 120 minutes against Bagan coach Panos’ former team Punjab FC who topped Group defeating East Bengal and Calcutta Customs. However, Vishal Kaith made one of the performances to remember saving 2 crucial penalties in shootout to send Bagan to final after 4-3 win in shootout.
East Bengal started IFA Shield group stage campaign with a 3-1 win against Calcutta Customs before losing 1-0 to Punjab FC in their second group match.They bounced back in style in the semi-finals, thrashing NorthEast United 7-2. David Lalhlansanga scored a hat-trick while Rohit Kumar, Chris Ikonomidis, Aké Loba and Łukasz Zwoliński also found the net.
All the East Bengal players who featured in India’s friendlies returned to East Bengal practice ahead of IFA Shield final. Anwar Ali, Prabhsukhan Gill, Jay Gupta, Edmund are the players.
Regarding their participation, East Bengal coach Antonio Lopez Habas stated, “No one apart from Anwar Ali featured in National team regularly from East Bengal. I will talk to the players and decide whether to play them”.
Habas made his winning mentality clear ahead of the Derby stating ,” We are giving 100% against Mohun Bagan”.
Mohun Bagan will miss services of Asish Rai and Jamie Maclaren in the final as they’re ruled out with injuries.
Bagan coach Panos backed his team and players, determined to play aggressive brand of Football.
“We created many chances in the match against Northeast. But we couldn’t do it against Punjab. As a result, the problem became bigger. Hopefully, tomorrow we will be able to return to our good habits. We will play aggressive football, and repeatedly take the ball into the box. We will play a little faster and show more quality and skill. These are the qualities that my footballers have. “Everyone is a quality player. And of course we have to score goals”, Panos said.
Even in Mohun Bagan’s case, likes of Manvir Singh, Abhishek Teckcham, Apuia, Anirudh Thapa featured for Indian team in Brazil and Uruguay games. They also played in Durand Cup , CFL, IFA Shield and from 10th October ISL 2026-27 will start. Hence, Panos didn’t rush about their participation
“Since last night, I and my assistants, especially the assistant coach, have been working on measuring the load of the footballers. They have played a lot of minutes for the Kolkata League, IFA Shield and the national team. At the moment, I cannot tell you how long who will be able to play. But we will try so that everyone is fresh and ready to play the match tomorrow”, said Panos.
“This is a derby. Considering our pride, our reputation, our fans and the next matches, we should win this match. At least we have to give our best. After the match, let us not say to ourselves that we did not work properly, did not work hard enough or did not give our best”, Panos gave a statement ahead of the Derby with winning mentality.
Head to Head –
Overall, in IFA Shield, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan faced off each other nearly 42 times where East Bengal hold strong edge with 21 wins while Bagan just won 8 and 13 matches ending with draw.
Both dominant Indian clubs came face to face against each other in IFA Shield final 24 times out of which Red and Yellow brigade won 24 times while Mohun Bagan won 7.
Last year IFA Shield final which started after 3 years hiatus , Mohun Bagan defeated East Bengal in Penalty shootout to claim 23rd title. East Bengal are most successful team with 29 titles.
Overall in Footballing history recorded, in total 410 games, East Bengal have won 145 matches while Mohun Bagan won 135.
Where to watch Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal IFA Shield 2026 final live ?
Live streaming of the Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal IFA Shield 2026 final will be available on FanCode in India. The MBSG vs EBFC IFA Shield football match will not be telecast live on any TV channel in India.
Venue –
Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Kriangan, Kolkata
Kick off Time and Date –
6:15 PM IST, 8th October.
Ticket Updates –
IFA has fixed the ticket prices between Rs 100 and Rs 1,250, with tickets also available at Rs 150, Rs 200, Rs 250, Rs 350 and Rs 650. Tickets are currently available in the District app.
IFA secretary Anirban Dutta confirmed that there will be no offline sale of tickets for the much-anticipated clash.
The Football festive season in Kolkata ahead of Durga Puja made the fans witness historical clashes of India playing against World champions Brazil and Uruguay. Russia Women will also take on India on October 8 and 11. The historic Bengal Derby will make the Festive season more flavourful and expected to draw thousands of fans at Salt Lake Stadium.
