India vs Panama LIVE: International friendly 2026
India are ready to kick off what will be the first of three challenging international friendlies, when they host Panama at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday (25 September 2026).
The Blue Tigers look to prove their mettle against a team that played at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Khalid Jamil hoping to use the home advantage to inspire his side to a positive result.
The Stakes
India
India host Panama on September 25 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.The Indian football team will be playing their first match since last playing in a friendly game way back in June (2026). They are winless in their last four competitive matches, only having won once so far this year.
Khalid Jamil knows that his side will be the underdogs for the upcoming three friendlies, and will look to hone them to thrive under that pressure. He will need to shape them up to be able to maintain a really compact and unbreakable defensive shape, needing the players to communicate and work together to close down spaces for the opposition players.
Moreover, Jamil needs his players to be efficient on set-pieces and swift-breaks to threaten the Panama side and be able to take the fight to them. A win or even a draw for India against Panama would be an encouraging result that shows that they can fight against much stronger opposition, but a crushing loss would dampen their momentum before the two big friendlies.
Panama
CARSON, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 16: The Starting XI of Panama’s national football team poses for a group picture before to the Group Stage – Group C match between Panama and Guadeloupe as part of the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup at Dignity Health Sports Park on June 16, 2025 in Carson, California. (Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images)For the Panama football team, the friendly match against India will be the first match they play since featuring at the 2026 FIFA World Cup over the summer. It’ll also be a nice warm-up clash for the upcoming Kirin Cup tournament that they’ll take place in, which means their players won’t take the clash against India so lightly.
Indeed, the Panama players are going to look to improve their overall sharpness as a unit by playing assertive, attacking football.
They’ll look to trouble the Indian players with innovative attacking moves, using their experience levels and physical stature to trouble the hosts. A win for Panama would be a nice way to pick up momentum before the upcoming tournament, but a defeat would leave a bitter taste.
Broadcast Details
The friendly international between India and Panama will take place on Friday, 25 September at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru.
The match will begin at 7:30 PM IST. It will be shown live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Aath SD & HD (Bengali) and be available to live stream on Sony LIV.
For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.