"They deserve that point": Head coach Thomas Christiansen opens up after India vs Panama
Panama were held to a 1-1 draw by India.
The Panama National Football Team was held to a 1-1 draw by the Indian National Football Team on the 25th of September 2026 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru, as part of their FIFA International Friendly fixtures.
The Blue Tigers dominated the first half with relentless attacking intent from Manvir Singh and Ryan Williams. Their pressure paid off in the 41st minute when Williams turned in Akash Mishra’s assist to give India the lead.
Panama responded after the break, making key substitutions and levelling the score through Omar Javier Valencia’s long-range strike past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Despite late pushes from both sides, both defences held firm to seal a 1-1 draw.
Following the draw, Panama head coach Thomas Christiansen addressed the media. Here is a detailed report on the post-match press conference of the match between India and Panama.
Thoughts on the game
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When asked for his thoughts on the game, Panama head coach Thomas Christiansen admitted his disappointment with the result while praising the Blue Tigers for their commitment on the pitch.
“Well, first, my thought is that we should have done more. We came here for the win. We did not achieve that. I need to say congratulations to India. They made a very good game, a serious game. They gave their all on the pitch, and I think they deserve that point “
On the young players in the Panama squad
In the pre-match press conference, Thomas Christiansen mentioned that he would use the match against India as an opportunity to give the young players in his team some minutes and provide them with experience as the Panama National Team is going through a squad transition after the World Cup. Hence, when asked about the young players, the coach said;
“For these young players, we did not have time to work, to train, because of the travel and logistics. But I am happy to see them get their minutes. It is not easy to play with five players who are making their start. But some players were making one or two matches. So the responsibility is mine.”
“We have to learn from this experience. We were very messy in the first half, but that is my fault. Regarding the left-back and the right-back, he says that Jair Modelo and Omar Valencia played a good match. Valencia scored the goal, and he congratulated both players. But this is a learning experience, and they have to learn from this.”
Was the coach surprised by India’s performance?
“No, I did not. I expected this team. All the teams in the world; it does not matter if they are in the FIFA 100 something, in the ranking. If you give them space and time, then they can do whatever they want. They have some very good quality players that made it difficult for us, especially in our defensive line.”
“With the second striker that you had up front, it was difficult to manage that. Also, as I mentioned in the first question, it was a little bit busy. As a team, we were not organised. That also gives the possibility to the opponent, India, when they recover the ball, to go and attack because we were so spread out and long in our lines. So that was one of the main reasons why we did not come in really well into the game.”
On Ryan Williams
“I congratulated him on the game he played. It was good. But as I mentioned yesterday in the press conference, that was one of the players, or perhaps the player, to keep an eye on. He did a great game. He created a lot of danger, ran a lot, gave good passes and arrived at the finish.”
Learnings from the game
“Yes. A lot of things. First of all, now we will have the possibility to train with the whole squad. But of course, things that you have to improve, things you saw during the whole game. There were good things; there were bad things.”
“And with the analysis that we will do after the game, we will try to correct. But I will try to take more time to tell the players about the different situations and what they did wrong, so they can learn from it. This is the experience that we need to take with us.”
What was the result of India vs Panama?
India and Panama played out a 1-1 draw in the FIFA International Friendly.
Who scored for India against Panama?
Ryan Williams scored India’s goal in the 1-1 draw against Panama.
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