India held to 1-1 draw by World Cup-experienced Panama in Bengaluru friendly
India held World Cup-bound Panama to a 1-1 draw at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru in a FIFA international friendly on September 25, 2026, with Ryan Williams opening the scoring and Omar Javier Valencia equalising from distance. The match finished level in front of 9,039 spectators after both sides had spells of control and clear scoring opportunities.
Panama arrived with a matchday squad that included 12 players who had featured at the 2026 World Cup, while India came into the fixture ranked 138th against Panama’s ranking of 44th; the visitors also handed five players their international debuts. Pre-match discussion had focused on ticketing and the modest turnout, and Thomas Christiansen had publicly accepted Panama would be favourites before kick-off. India returned to Kanteerava for the first time since their 2023 SAFF Championship triumph, and Khalid Jamil's side were tasked with matching a team carrying recent World Cup experience.
Panama controlled possession early, earning two corners inside the first 11 minutes, but India created the first significant opening when Ashique Kuruniyan advanced down the right around the eighth minute and delivered a cross that found no taker. Tekcham Singh was heavily involved defensively in those opening stages while Anwar Ali and Bijoy Varghese largely contained Panama’s forward movements. Heinz Murrillo was repeatedly caught offside, which limited the visitors’ ability to sustain pressure in behind India’s defence.
India grew into the game and almost led in the 17th minute when Ryan Williams came close, then increased his work-rate by pressing Panama’s defenders and chasing second balls. Akash Mishra’s left-sided run and diagonal pass produced the breakthrough in the 41st minute; Williams calmly slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner to give India a 1-0 lead. The goal generated a loud reaction from the crowd and punctuated a first half in which the hosts had steadily asked questions of their opponents.
Panama began the second half with greater urgency, with a shot on target from Murillo around the 50th minute comfortably collected by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The visitors’ persistence paid off when substitute Omar Javier Valencia picked up the ball outside the box and struck a long-range shot into the top corner to level the score, leaving Gurpreet without an answer. Jamil responded by making three changes: Edmund Lalrindika, Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad replaced Williams, Ricky Shabong and Vikram Partap Singh.
India retained attacking intent after the equaliser, with Ashique producing a cross that found Lalrindika, who sent a chance wide, and with Sahal probing between the lines while Jay Gupta pushed forward from deeper areas and Manvir Singh remained involved in attacking moves. Williams’ substitution removed a source of pace and pressing that had unsettled Panama earlier, and the visitors began to see more of the ball as the game progressed. Both sides had opportunities in the closing stages and the match concluded with neither able to find a winner.
For Khalid Jamil, this was described as one of India’s strongest performances since he took charge, and the 1-1 scoreline was noted for the manner in which India competed against a side featuring recent World Cup participants.
