Another World Cup team coming to India; Panama to play friendly in September

India will host Panama in an international friendly on September 26 during the FIFA men's international window, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Tuesday. The venue for the match will be announced later.

The fixture will be India's first meeting with Panama and will give Khalid Jamil's side a stern test against a team ranked 44th in the latest FIFA rankings. Panama will only be the ninth different CONCACAF opponent India have faced.

Panama featured in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, although they were eliminated in the group stage. Making their second appearance at the World Cup after their debut in Russia in 2018, Panama faced a tough group challenge going against heavyweights England, Croatia and Ghana.

The September 26 fixture is also part of a demanding run of matches for India against teams that featured at the 2026 World Cup. The Blue Tigers are scheduled to face Brazil on October 3, followed by two matches against New Zealand on November 12 and 15.

AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan said the Panama game would provide India with valuable exposure ahead of the Brazil fixture.

"Playing against Panama will be a tough battle ahead of the Brazil game. Panama are a top-50 team in the world, and it will be a good test for Khalid Jamil's boys," he said. "We are looking forward to our players getting the right exposure, and we normally don't get to play such World Cup teams. So it's a good FIFA window for us, where we are playing such tough teams," he added.