India v Panama: International friendly in Bengaluru on 25 September 2026

India will host Panama at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, 25 September 2026 in an international friendly between the two nations.

The match is India’s first fixture since a friendly in June 2026 and comes amid a difficult run: the Blue Tigers are winless in their last four competitive matches and have recorded only one victory so far this year. Khalid Jamil arrives as India’s head coach and intends to use home advantage to inspire a positive result.

Jamil has said his side will be underdogs for the upcoming series of friendlies and wants to prepare the team to cope with that pressure. He has emphasised the need for a compact defensive shape, strong communication to close down spaces and for the team to be effective from set-pieces and on quick breaks to trouble Panama.

For Panama, this fixture is their first match since featuring at the 2026 FIFA World Cup over the summer. Panama will treat the game as preparation for the upcoming Kirin Cup tournament and aim to regain sharpness by playing assertive, attacking football while using their experience and physical attributes to trouble the hosts.

A positive result for India — either a win or a draw — would be viewed as encouraging against higher-ranked opposition, while a heavy defeat would risk denting momentum ahead of the remaining fixtures. For Panama, a victory would build momentum before the Kirin Cup and a loss would leave an undesirable outcome ahead of that tournament.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM IST at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium; the match will be shown live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD and Sony Aath SD & HD (Bengali), and will be available to live stream on Sony LIV.

This friendly is the first of three international friendlies planned for India, and Panama will use the match as a warm-up for the Kirin Cup; for updates Khel Now lists coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and offers an Android app, iOS app and community links on WhatsApp and Telegram.