Mohun Bagan vs NorthEast United: All-time head-to-head record ahead of Durand Cup semifinal

Shillong will host the semifinal 2 of Durand Cup 2026.

The second semifinal of the 2026 Durand Cup will see Indian Super League (ISL) rivals NorthEast United FC and Mohun Bagan SG go toe-to-toe to take a step closer to potentially winning the tournament – which has acted as the curtain-raiser for the 2026-27 Indian Football season.

NorthEast United are the defending champions of the Durand Cup, having won it over the last two years and it’ll be the Mariners’ mission to stop them from potentially going three in a row.

Since Mohun Bagan SG started playing in the Indian Super League (ISL) from the 2020-21 season, there have been many meetings between them and the Highlanders. The majority of them have happened in the ISL itself, which includes a few battles in the knockout phases of the ISL playoffs as well.

When it comes to the Durand Cup, these two sides have only met each other once in their history of playing in Asia’s oldest knockout competition. NorthEast United have the upper-hand when it comes to their form in the Durand Cup over the last few years, having won the competition twice in-a-row in the last two editions.

Mohun Bagan SG, meanwhile, have won the Durand Cup the most number of times for any team in its history – having clinched the tournament a whopping 17 times over their history.

The last time they won it was in 2023, when they actually defeated arch-rivals East Bengal to claim the Durand Cup title after a 23-year-long gap.

That is why the upcoming 2026 Durand Cup semifinal between NorthEast United and Mohun Bagan should be a thrilling battle of wits between the two ISL sides.

The Mohun Bagan vs NorthEast United clash will take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium in Shillong on 20 August (2026) with a 7 pm kick-off.

A good Durand Cup campaign so far

The NorthEast United vs Mohun Bagan clash is going to be particularly entertaining because of the kind of dominant form enjoyed by both teams heading into this clash. The Highlanders have definitely held up their tag of defending champions, winning all four of their matches heading into the semifinal.

NorthEast United absolutely dominated the group stages of the Durand Cup 2026, winning all their matches against Bodoland, Morning Star as well as FC1. They scored 13 goals in the three group games and only conceded twice, showcasing amazing dominance when it comes to getting commanding wins.

The Highlanders faced Shillong Lajong in the quarterfinals of the Durand Cup and managed to humble their opponents in their own yard. They were able to earn a thrilling 5-2 win, with their Moroccan star Alaaeddine Ajaairaie scoring a hat-trick as well as goals from Ethyan Gonzalez and Jithin MS sealing a huge win for them in a match where they even went 2-1 down before the end of the first half.

Just like NorthEast United, Mohun Bagan were also able to win three of their group stage games in the 2026 Durand Cup. That included a thrilling win over rivals East Bengal in the opening game of the tournament, while the Mariners also earned high-scoring wins over South United and CISF Protectors to finish the group stages in first place and 15 goals scored, as well as conceding zero goals.

However, the Mariners did face an intimidating threat against a hard-working Jamshedpur FC side in the quarterfinals of the Durand Cup. Despite leading early on thanks to Sahal Abdul Samad’s goal, the Men of Steel roared back to drag the game to a penalty shoot-out.

Here, the expert penalty-taking ability of the Mariners helped them outlast Jamshedpur FC to win the shootout and earn a place in the semifinal of the Durand Cup.

The only time that NorthEast United and Mohun Bagan have faced one another in the Durand Cup was in the 2024 Durand Cup final. It was a thrilling battle where the Mariners took a 2-0 lead, only for the Highlanders to fight back and make it 2-2.

The match was dragged to a penalty shoot-out, where NorthEast United ended up getting the win – and that is why this upcoming clash will be a chance for the Kolkata side to enact revenge for that loss.

Mohun Bagan hold the upper hand over NorthEast United

The matches between these two sides have been regularly taking place since these sides first met in the 2020-21 ISL campaign. Their first-ever meeting was actually on 3 January (2021), when the Mariners managed to pick up a compelling 2-0 win to frustrate the Highlanders.

However, the Highlanders were able to bite right back and won the second match between them in the 2020-21 ISL campaign, keeping quite the equal standing against the Mariners.

These two also had a few thrilling battles in the 2020-21 ISL playoffs, with Mohun Bagan clinching the game 3-2 on aggregate. Liston Colaco has actually been prolific in meetings against the Highlanders and have scored five goals against the Highlanders as a Mohun Bagan player.

Over the last five games between NorthEast United and Mohun Bagan, Mohun Bagan have been able to win on four occasions – but the only win for the Highlanders came in the 2024 Durand Cup final.

The most recent clash between the two sides happened in the 2025-26 ISL campaign, where Mohun Bagan were able to snag a narrow 1-0 win over the Highlanders at the Indira Gandhi Athletic (IGA) Stadium (Guwahati).

All-time head-to-head record

Total matches played – 13

NorthEast United wins – 2

Mohun Bagan wins – 10

Draws – 1

The upcoming NorthEast United vs Mohun Bagan clash in the 2026 Durand Cup semifinal should be a tightly contested, feisty encounter because of how desperate both sets of players are to win the tournament this year.

For NorthEast United, beating Mohun Bagan to take a step closer to reaching their third successive Durand Cup final could be an ideal way to prove why their shaky form in the 2025-26 ISL was just one-off thing.

The Highlanders’ have an ideal chance to prove their giant-slaying ability with a compelling display against Mohun Bagan to give them their first defeat under Panagiotis Dilmperis.

The Mariners, however, will not want to lose to NorthEast United in another Durand Cup clash. After the way they’ve dominated most of their matches in this tournament, they’ll aim to maintain their positive form against the defending champions and enact revenge for their loss in the 2024 Durand Cup final.

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