India to host Panama in international friendly on September 26, 2026

India will host Panama in an international friendly 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.

The meeting will be the first-ever between the two nations and represents only the ninth different CONCACAF side India have faced. Panama are currently ranked 44th in the FIFA World Ranking and featured at the FIFA World Cup 2026. The September fixture is 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 Mr M Satyanarayan said, "Playing against Panama will be a tough battle ahead of the Brazil game. Panama is 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."

Khel Now published the confirmation and included the tweet: "🚨CONFIRMED: Indian men's football team will take on Panama in an international friendly on September 26! 🇮🇳🇵🇦#BlueTigers #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/76kdFrQ8MC". The story was written by Rohit Mistri, a sports journalist from Kolkata with over two years of experience who has covered Indian football, including tournaments such as the Calcutta Football League and the Indian Super League.

India’s next scheduled match among the World Cup nations is against Brazil on October 3, 2026, with fixtures against New Zealand set for November 12 and 15, 2026.