East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan: All-time Durand Cup final head-to-head record

The Durand Cup 2026 final will be played at VYBK Stadium.

The grand finale of the 2026 Durand Cup will feature a thrilling Kolkata derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, when they fight to earn the chance of winning their first trophy of the 2026-27 season at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Sunday (23 August 2026).

When it comes to their meetings strictly in the Durand Cup, both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal share a rich history in this competition.

Mohun Bagan have won the Durand Cup title 17 times in their history, which is the most any team have ever won. What is rather fascinating is that East Bengal have won the Durand Cup title 16 times, meaning that they can actually tie Mohun Bagan in this tally by defeating them in the 2026 final.

Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have faced each other 24 times in the Durand Cup matches. The first time that they played in a Durand Cup game was way back in the semifinals of the 1961 Durand Cup – which actually ended up as a 0-0 draw before the Torchbearers picked up a 3-2 win in the replay.

Since then, the two Kolkata heavyweights have met each other on numerous occasions in the Durand Cup – especially their meetings in the final of the age-old tournament on many occasions.

That is why the upcoming East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan clash at the 2026 Durand Cup semifinal will be a particularly enticing one because of the odds that are set up for both sides in this period of the tournament.

The Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal clash will take place at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 23 August (2026) with a 5 PM kick-off.

A hard-fought Durand Cup campaign

The East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan clash is going to be a tightly contested battle because of how both teams possess high-quality players across the pitch, capable of making a difference in the result.

East Bengal actually had a stuttering start to their 2026 Durand Cup campaign, suffering a narrow loss to their Kolkata rivals in the first match of Antonio Habas era.

However, since then, they have managed to bounce back really strongly. The Torchbearers won both of their remaining group stage matches, scoring 13 goals across two matches to get dominant wins over CISF Protectors and South United to reserve a place in the knockout stages as one of the two-best second-place teams at the end of the group stages.

East Bengal then went onto produce a gritty performance in the quarterfinal against Army Red, relying on PV Vishnu’s winner to earn a 1-0 win to reserve a place in the semifinal.

They faced grittier competition in the semis against fellow Indian Super League (ISL) side SC Delhi, with neither of the teams being able to score in normal time. In the penalty shootout, the heroics of Prabhsukhan Gill helped them win the penalty shootout to earn a place in the final.

For Mohun Bagan, the road to the final was more flawless than it was for their rivals. They began their Durand Cup campaign in style with a hard-fought 1-0 win over East Bengal, getting all three points despite not being really at their sharpest in the first match of the tournament.

Mohun Bagan got into their groove from the second group game, as they scored 14 goals in their remaining two group clashes against South United and CISF Protectors to top the group with 15 goals scored and zero conceded. In the quarterfinals, the Mariners faced more challenging opposition in the form of Jamshedpur FC.

They were tested to the limit in the clash, with the match dragging to a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in normal time.

Here, the heroics of Vishal Kaith proved to be decisive as he helped them win the shootout to reach the semifinals – setting up a Durand Cup match against NorthEast United – who defeated them in the 2024 Durand Cup final!

The Mariners had a tough time playing their natural game in a water-logged pitch in the semifinal and were again dragged to a penalty shoot-out.

However, unlike 2024 – when they lost in a shootout against the Highlanders – this time Kaith came up big with two penalty saves to help Mohun Bagan get their revenge to book a place in the 2026 Durand Cup final against their rivals.

The last time that an East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan clash happened in a final of a Durand Cup was back in the 2023 edition.

It was a really closely-fought battle between the Indian Super League (ISL) heavyweights in front of a jam-packed crowd at the Salt Lake Stadium.

However, a 71st-minute winning goal from Dimitri Petratos proved to be the difference-maker to help Mohun Bagan win the derby and also clinch their record-setting 17th Durand Cup trophy.

Tightly contested outings

The East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan clashes in the final of the Durand Cup have been taking place since the early 1960s! Their first-ever clash in the Durand Cup final was actually in the 1961 Durand Cup final. Here, the two sides held each other to a 1-1 draw in the final – which forced a replay the next day as no concept of a penalty shootout existed then.

Even the replay ended up as a draw – which caused the Durand Cup organizers to announce both teams as joint-winners of the 1961 Durand Cup.

It was actually Mohun Bagan to outright win a Durand Cup final between these two sides, defeating East Bengal by a 2-0 margin in the 1964 Durand Cup finale to win that title.

However, East Bengal were also able to get their revenge seven years later as they picked up a thrilling 2-0 win over the Mariners in the 1971 Durand Cup final.

These two sides again forced a Durand Cup final replay in the 1973 edition, but this time East Bengal won the replay by a 1-0 margin to clinch the championship.

The heaviest defeat that East Bengal have dealt Mohun Bagan in a Durand Cup final came in the 1979 edition, when they picked up a dominant 3-0 win to clinch their eighth Durand Cup title.

The last time that East Bengal defeated Mohun Bagan in a Durand Cup final was back in the 2004 Durand Cup edition, where they picked up a 2-1 win to lift their 16th Durand Cup title – and the trophy has eluded them ever since.

The most recent Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal clash at a Durand Cup final, was of course, won by the Mariners in 2023.

All-time head-to-head record (in Durand Cup finals)

Total matches played – 14

East Bengal wins – 5

Mohun Bagan wins – 5

Draws – 4

The upcoming East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan clash at the 2026 Durand Cup final is guaranteed to be an action-packed, aggressive clash because of how eager both teams are to win their first piece of silverware under their new respective head coaches.

For East Bengal, there is a sense of desperation to end their Durand Cup drought and getting revenge over Mohun Bagan after losing to them in the opening game of the 2026 edition – which is why they’ll push hard to get a compelling victory.

They will need to be defensively secure to neutralize Mohun Bagan’s dangerous attack, while Habas also needs his side to be much more prolific in finishing off their transitions to get all three points.

Mohun Bagan, however, are determined to maintain their impressive recent record against East Bengal. They’ll look to produce another good performance by taking up their chances efficiently and capitalizing on their opponents’ high-fatigue levels to win another Durand Cup final over them.

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