"We need this performance every time": Ryan Williams & Khalid Jamil address media following India’s 1-1 draw against Panama
India held Panama to a historic 1-1 draw.
The Indian national football team held the 44th-ranked Panama national football team to a 1-1 historic draw at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru on the 25th of September 2026, as a part of their FIFA international friendlies.
In the first half, India dictated the proceedings and took the lead in the 41st minute, courtesy of Ryan Williams, who found the back of the net, after excecuting a perfectly timed ball to provide the hosts with the advantage.
In the second half, Panama who were desperate to find the equaliser, brought scores back to level terms, off Omar Valencia, who deployed a long range banger. Following this, despite both teams trying to find the winning goal, both the defence remained resilient and the score remained 1-1.
Following this remarkable feat, India head coach Khalid Jamil and the Player of the match Ryan Williams addressed the media.
Here is a detailed report of the post-match press conference of the match between India and Panama.
Thoughts on the draw
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When asked about the team’s performance following the historic 1-1 draw, head coach Khalid Jamil praised the hard work and belief across the squad, while Ryan Williams highlighted the personal significance of scoring in front of the West Block Blues, where his Indian football career began, crediting the result to the team’s unity and effort on the pitch.
“Yes, everybody played very good, that is a good point. All the players and coaches worked very hard. We have that belief, we must continue like that.” said Khalid Jamil after the historic 1-1 draw
“It was really special for me; this is where I started my career in Indian football. For me to score in front of all the fans, but especially the West Block Blues and the BFC fans, very special. Like the coach said, for us it’s all about togetherness, we have a really good group here. You can see that on the pitch, I don’t think there was one player there that didn’t give everything on the pitch. And that’s what we need to do,” said Ryan Williams, the Player of the match.
“Yes, you can say like this, it was the best match. I think because of the support of the fans, the support of the team, the positivity, that is amazing. We are looking forward to repeating this result again,” said Khalid Jamil.
On the importance of this performance
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When asked about the significance of the performance, Khalid Jamil stated that such performances will ensure smooth progress.
He credited the mature squad for the result, emphasising that the players deserve even greater positivity and support going forward.
“Yes, we need this kind of performance every time. Because with this type of performance, if we do then everything will be smooth. I am talking about the players, I want to mention again, because of them we got this result. Because I have seen them, I don’t have to give much information or anything, they are very mature. I just want to say that they need more support and positivity, more support.”
How hard was it playing behind the lines, ensuring the ball is won comfortably?
Ryan Williams said, “Yeah, it was difficult. I think, like I said, we are all mature players, and you have to see what the situation is. We set out for me to play more as a 10, but as the game unraveled, that’s not what it needed. I think me and Manvir were working really well, one shot, one long, until we scored the first goal. But it was difficult. Our job was to try and hold the ball up and wait for everybody to come.”
“That’s what we’ve had to work from. So, then we can get the ball up and try to maintain position, get something, win a throw, win a corner, try something. And we did that for the most part. Yeah, it was a difficult game. But these are really good defenders, so we take a lot of confidence from this game. Before the game, we all believed in each other.”
On the performance and the camp
On how the team approached the performance and built momentum, Ryan Williams said.
“We knew what our best attributes are. And we did that. What we tried to focus on was each individual action. Not the whole 90 minutes, but each individual action. If you can try and win that action to the best of your ability, then it just slowly adds and adds and builds and builds and builds. And as you can see from the start of the game to the end of the game, we probably could have scored more.”
“We were really happy with how we took the ball back to front. And we held it there, like you said. And it’s just a performance that we should all be really proud of. We had belief from the start. It’s been a really good camp in terms of everyone’s been very free, very happy, very high-spirited. So, all we need to do is maintain that when the camps keep coming. And I think we’re definitely on the right path.”
On Ryan and his timing on the run for goal
When asked about his goal, Ryan Williams kept it humble, crediting his movement to sharp instincts and team execution.
“I think that’s from a personal note. That’s one thing. As I said, going back to the attributes, that’s one of my attributes is timing the run. For every five rounds, you may get one. But lucky enough today, I made one run, I got one ball, and I managed to slide it past the keeper.”
“But I can’t score that goal without Manvir coming short and pulling that defender out. We did work on certain things in training, and that was one of them. It seemed, coming out, like I should put the ball down the side. So, credit to everybody.”
“I think, as I said, because of the play we got this result, there is no doubt about it. And second thing, everybody there enjoying their practice, enjoying being together. There is no negativity at all. That is a plus point, I think.”
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