India to face New Zealand in Auckland friendly on Thursday, 12 November (2026)

India will travel to Auckland to play New Zealand at the Go Media Stadium (Auckland) on Thursday, 12 November (2026) in the first of two designated international friendlies, with Khalid Jamil leading the visiting side.

India arrive having won both of their Group stage matches at the SAFF Championship 2026, beating Pakistan 3-2 on 8 November and Maldives 1-0 on 11 November to qualify for the tournament semi-finals; the Blue Tigers return to facing prominent opposition after recent windows that included games versus Panama, Brazil and Uruguay.

The preview warns that Jamil will seek a compact defensive shape and energy in key areas while demanding greater clinical finishing from his forwards; centre-back Anwar Ali was not selected because of injury, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Rahul Bheke and Sandesh Jhingan have all been left out of the squad.

New Zealand come into the fixture off mixed form, having won just two of their last 10 matches and produced a disappointing 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign in which they lost two of three games and conceded 10 goals; coach Andrew Boyens is expected to urge his players to be energetic and innovative in chance creation to regain momentum.

The All Whites’ squad is led by veteran striker Chris Wood, with Corban Piper, Matthew Sheridan and Nathan Walker receiving maiden call-ups for the New Zealand side.

Kick-off in Auckland is scheduled for 11:30 AM IST and the match will be live streamed on FIFA+ on DAZN.com & the DAZN app.