India beat Kuwait on penalties in 2023 SAFF final at Sree Kanteerava Stadium
The last time the Indian men’s national team played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru was the 2023 SAFF Championship final, when India defeated Kuwait on penalties to lift the title in 2023. India will return to the same ground to face 44th-ranked Panama on September 25, 2026 at 19:30 IST.
The All India Football Federation has scheduled three international friendlies during the September–October international break against opponents who are all ranked in the top 50 and featured at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and has increased promotional activity around the games with new kits, promos, training videos and player content. As Khalid Jamil and his boys prepare for Panama, the federation has been more active on marketing after years of fan demand and in the run-up to presidential elections.
Panama, ranked 44th, were one of the nations at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and were drawn alongside England, Croatia and Ghana; they finished their World Cup campaign with zero points and were eliminated in the group stage. India enter the friendly with a FIFA ranking of 138.
Although the national team usually trains in Bengaluru, the last occasion India played in the city was the 2023 SAFF Championship, which was staged entirely in Bengaluru. India played five games in that tournament and finished unbeaten, defeating Lebanon and Kuwait in the semi-finals and final respectively on penalties to claim the title.
In the final versus Kuwait, the visitors took the lead in the 14th minute before Chhangte levelled the score before half-time to make it 1-1; neither the 90 minutes nor 30 minutes of extra time produced a winner and the match was decided by a penalty shootout in which Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stood strong and bailed India out to clinch the championship at home in front of their fans.
Close to 25,000 fans attended the final and celebrated by singing Vande Mataram, and the victory contributed to India’s trophy haul rising to three in the summer of 2023 while the country also broke into the top 100 of the FIFA rankings. The Sree Kanteerava Stadium, located in Bengaluru, serves as the home ground of Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League.
This time, most stands remained unsold even 24 hours before kick-off, a situation the article attributes to a rise in ticket prices; a ticket that cost ₹499 in 2023 is being sold for ₹1,999 for the Panama clash, a four-fold increase while India’s ranking has dropped by close to 40 places. India’s match against 44th-ranked Panama is confirmed for the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on September 25, 2026 at 19:30 IST.