The Indian senior men’s national football team is set to host Panama in an international friendly match on September 26. This event will take place during the FIFA Men’s International Match Window, as confirmed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Tuesday.
The match will be India’s first-ever meeting with Panama and will give Khalid Jamil’s side another opportunity to test themselves against a nation that featured at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The venue for the fixture will be confirmed at a later date, according to an AIFF media release.
AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan said the fixture would provide valuable exposure to the Indian players ahead of their high-profile clash against Brazil in October.
Brazil will visit Kolkata on October 3, while New Zealand are scheduled to face India twice on November 12 and 15. Brazil are scheduled to play Australia on September 25, and to play another friendly in Brisbane on September 29, before travelling to India for the October 3 fixture. The Panama fixture is currently set to be the first of four matches India will play against teams that featured at this summer’s World Cup.
Panama is a top-50 team in the world, and it will be a good test for Khalid Jamil’s boys.
So it’s a good FIFA window for us, where we are playing such tough teams,” he said. “Playing against Panama will be a tough battle ahead of the Brazil game. We are looking forward to our players getting the right exposure, and we normally don’t get to play such World Cup teams.
