Auckland : Indian men’s national team will face New Zealand in the first of two international friendlies at the Go Media Stadium in Auckland on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at 11:40 IST. The fixture marks the Blue Tigers’ first-ever visit to New Zealand and will be the third senior international meeting between the two sides after 1981 and 2018.
For most of the Indian squad, the journey to New Zealand has been an entirely new experience. For the Australia-born Ryan Williams, however, the country is not unfamiliar territory. The forward has travelled here before with Perth Glory in the A-League, including for a fixture against Wellington Phoenix that came to be known by the oxymoron ‘Distance Derby’.
In January 2023, Williams was part of the Perth Glory side that drew 2-2 with Wellington Phoenix in Palmerston North. David Williams, a familiar name to Indian football fans from his time with ATK and Mohun Bagan, scored both goals for Glory that day.
“Every time I’ve come to New Zealand to play, it’s always been difficult because of how far away it is from everything. From Perth, it’s a long way. The time difference is something you have to manage as well,” Ryan Williams said.
That experience has also helped the 33-year-old approach the current trip with a plan. With Auckland seven and a half hours ahead of India, the squad’s first challenge after the journey was adjusting to the local clock. Williams, however, has spent years travelling across time zones, including during his time in the United Kingdom and Australia, and has developed a routine to manage jet lag.
“My plan was to sleep for the first part of the flight, which was to Malaysia. I slept a couple of hours, then pretty much didn’t sleep until we got here. It kind of resets your whole body clock, so you can come here, go straight to sleep and try to sleep through the whole night. I feel good. I’ve done this plenty of times before, so it definitely helps in situations like this,” he said.
The change in climate has been another talking point among the players. Auckland’s cool, wet conditions are familiar to Williams, but a new experience for several of his teammates. They got a taste of it during the first training session at the North Harbour Stadium Outer Oval on Tuesday. What started as a pleasant and breezy afternoon session turned into a chilly downpour halfway through.
“Having trained in pouring rain, cold and on wet, muddy ground, I’m used to it. But these boys came out, and it was quite funny. It was like a scene out of Cool Runnings,” he joked, referring to the 1993 movie about the Jamaican bobsleigh team competing at the Winter Olympics.
“Everyone enjoyed it, though. Testing yourself in different climates, temperatures and parts of the world is what we want to do as footballers. It’s really exciting. Everyone is happy, glad that we’re here, and thankful that these games have been put on.”
Williams has also faced New Zealand at the international level before, as a member of Australia’s U20 side. The Young Socceroos defeated the Junior All Whites 5-0 in a friendly in Wollongong in June 2013, as part of their preparations for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey. However, Thursday’s match would be his first international appearance on New Zealand soil.
The Blue Tigers are also looking forward to the challenge of facing another side that featured at the FIFA World Cup 2026, following India’s meetings with Panama, Brazil and Uruguay during the last international window.
“It’s a really cool couple of games for us. Coming off the back of playing Panama, Brazil and Uruguay, we’ve got that taste for wanting to play teams that have been in the World Cup. We’ve learned a lot from those games and know how we can improve,” he said.
“There were periods in those three games when it didn’t look like there was much difference. Our goal is to take that forward and try to sustain those good periods for longer against equally strong teams. These are teams that have all played in the World Cup, and that’s where we aspire to be as a country. The more games we play against these big teams, the better it will be for everyone.”
The Blue Tigers will face the All Whites again in the second friendly at the One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch on Sunday, November 15, at 08:40 IST.
