The Indian football team will be up for a fresh challenge when the Blue Tigers host world no.44 Panama on Friday at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. Although India are ranked way below at 138 in the latest FIFA Rankings, it will be a huge valuable experience for the Indian players and final a new direction as a footballing nation.
The match against Panama is a precursor for India, who will host more storied opponents in five-time world champions Brazil (October 3) and two-time title winners Uruguay (October 6), both the matches to be held at the iconic Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata.
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Not just the players, the three matches will also offer the All India Football Federation (AIFF) administrators gain something about the standard of the game in the country. India have struggled at the Asian level and also have been plagued with the domestic structure turmoil in recent times.
A tiny nation with just 4.65 million population, Panama are coming after playing in the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico. They have played in the 2018 World Cup also, besides finishing runners-up in the CONCACAF Nations League 2024-25.
Panama were grouped alongside heavyweights Ghana, England and Croatia in Group L, and failed to net a single goal, before making exit. Panama, have come to India with 14 players who played at the 2026 World Cup. Also in the squad is six debutants, with five of them likely to make a national team debut against India in Bengaluru.
Panama are coached by former Spain forward Thomas Christiansen, who recently got an contract extension till 2030 World Cup. He has been at helm since July 2020. In fact, Panama are the second CONCACAF nation that India will play in 2026 after facing Jamaica in the Unity Cup.
Having taken over the reins from Manolo Marquez in 2025, under Khalid Jamil, India have won just two matches out of 12 the Blue Tigers have played. India lost six and drew four games. For India, they will have to guard against Panama’s ability to sit back before launching vertical counterattacks, with Anwar Ali playing a crucial role in the defence.
In the midfield, Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad are the crucial names for India, while the Edmund Lalrindika, Manvir Singh and Rahim Ali can look forward to play a positive game in the frontline. Ryan Williams will be tasked to score goals at the upfront.
For the unknown, out of 24 players in the Panama side, 22 have the experience of playing in foreign leagues like Major Soccer League in the USA, and in Turkey, Mexico and Austria.
Sony Sports Network is the official broadcaster of the India vs Panama football match. The India vs Panama football match will be telecast live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD and Sony Aath SD & HD (Bengali) channels. Live streaming of the India vs Panama match will be available on SonyLIV app and website.
India: Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Som Kumar; Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Anwar Ali, Bijoy Varghese, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Jay Gupta, Pramveer, Ricky Meetei Haobam; Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ashique Kuruniyan, Farukh Choudhary, Lalengmawia Ralte, Macarton Nickson, Mohammed Sanan, Ricky Shabong, Sahal Abdul Samad; Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Irfan Yadwad, Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Ryan Williams, Vikram Partap Singh.
Panama: Goalkeepers: Orlando Mosquera, Marcos De Leon, Eddie Roberts; Defenders: Cesar Blackman, Jorge Gutiérrez, Jair Model, Amir Murillo, Omar Valencia, Martín Krug, Andrés Andrade, José Córdoba, Jiovany Ramos, Joseph Jones, Eduardo Anderson; Midfielders: Carlos Harvey, Adalberto, Cristian Martínez, José Luis Rodríguez, Victor Griffith, Daivis Murillo, Azarías Londoño, Rafael Mosquera, Giovany Herbert; Forwards: Jose Fajardo, Josue Vergara, Mijahir Jiménez, Tomás Rodríguez.
