Kolkata : The Indian senior men’s national team will host Panama in an international friendly match on Saturday, September 26, 2026, during the FIFA Men’s International Match Window. The venue for the fixture will be confirmed at a later date.
It will be the first-ever meeting between the two nations, and only the ninth different CONCACAF side India have faced in their history. Panama, currently ranked 44th in the FIFA World Ranking, will provide the Blue Tigers with another opportunity to test themselves against a World Cup-playing nation. Los Canaleros featured at the FIFA World Cup 2026, making the September fixture, as of now, the first of four matches India will play against this summer’s World Cup nations in 2026, with Brazil to follow on October 3 and New Zealand on November 12 and 15.
AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan said, “Playing against Panama will be a tough battle ahead of the Brazil game. Panama are a top-50 team in the world, and it will be a good test for Khalid Jamil’s boys. We are looking forward to our players getting the right exposure, and we normally don’t get to play such World Cup teams. So it’s a good FIFA window for us, where we are playing such tough teams.”
