India Football Fixtures 2026: Panama, Brazil, Uruguay

India play three World Cup nations in twelve days. Panama come to Bengaluru on Friday 25 September, Brazil to Kolkata on Saturday 3 October and Uruguay to Kolkata on Tuesday 6 October. All three are listed at 7:30 pm IST, all three are on Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV, and in November India travel to New Zealand for two more friendlies.

Indian football does not often get a fortnight like this. It also arrives at an awkward moment: India have lost three of their five games this year and have not played since June. This page is the one place for the whole run, with dates, tickets, the 26-man squad, what the opposition looks like and what to watch for. Everything was checked on 21 September, and where two sources disagreed we tell you.

India's schedule at a glance

A note on times: some early reports put the Brazil game at 7 pm. The District ticket pages list 7:30 pm for all three home games and ESPN's feed agrees, so that is what we use. The AIFF announcements we read did not include a time, so check your ticket before you set off.

Where India are right now

Khalid Jamil was named head coach in August 2025, the first Indian appointed to the job in more than a decade. He made his name at Aizawl FC, whom he took to the I-League title in 2016-17.

The last five results, all in 2026: a 2-1 win over Hong Kong in the Asian Cup qualifiers on 31 March, then a 2-0 loss to Jamaica and a 1-0 loss to Zimbabwe at the Unity Cup in late May, and a 3-1 loss and a 1-1 draw in two friendlies against Tajikistan in early June. That is one win in five, and the win came before the Unity Cup.

So nobody is expecting Brazil to be a fair fight. The realistic aim is to be organised, show some courage on the ball and hold up in front of two big crowds. Akash Mishra, the defender, put it well in an AIFF interview ahead of the friendlies: the players grew up admiring these opponents, but the admiration has to wait until after the 90 minutes, and India cannot go into the games thinking they are only there to learn.

India vs Panama: Friday 25 September, Bengaluru

The Panama game was moved a day earlier, from 26 to 25 September, because the Sree Kanteerava Stadium hosts the Bengaluru Marathon on 27 September. It is the first time the two countries have played each other. Kick-off is listed at 7:30 pm IST, and tickets started at ₹499 on District, with reports putting the top of the range at ₹9,999.

Panama were in England's World Cup group and lost all three games, 1-0 to Ghana, 1-0 to Croatia and 2-0 to England, without scoring. The AIFF had them ranked 44th in the world when it announced the match. Thomas Christiansen, who was born in Denmark, has picked 27 players for the Asian tour. Fourteen of them were at the World Cup, and six could win their first senior caps, including goalkeeper Marcos De León.

Panama do not stay long. From Bengaluru they go to Japan for the Kirin Cup Soccer, with a game against New Zealand in Yokohama on 1 October and a second match in Tokyo on 5 October.

For India there are two nice storylines. The stadium hosted the 2023 SAFF Championship final, when India beat Kuwait on penalties after a 1-1 draw, with 26,380 in the ground. And Ryan Williams, the Bengaluru FC winger who made his India debut in March this year and has two caps and a goal, will play in national colours at the ground where his Indian career began. He called it a full-circle moment.

India vs Brazil: Saturday 3 October, Kolkata

The big one. Brazil are fifth in the FIFA rankings according to the AIFF, which calls them the highest-ranked opponent India have faced since the rankings began in 1992. It is also the first time the two senior men's teams have met.

Carlo Ancelotti's squad is an overhaul. Neymar has retired from international football, Alisson, Casemiro and Fabinho are out, and Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha and Endrick are in. Brazil play Australia twice before flying to Kolkata.

India vs Uruguay: Tuesday 6 October, Kolkata

Uruguay were ranked 20th when the AIFF announced the game in August. They arrive in Kolkata after playing Japan in Miyagi on 24 September and South Korea in Seoul on 28 September, an unusual tour that takes in three Asian countries in two weeks.

Diego Forlán is in charge on an interim basis, following Marcelo Bielsa's departure after a group-stage exit at the World Cup. Forlán played 112 times for Uruguay, scored 36 goals and won the Golden Ball at the 2010 World Cup. The AIFF also points out that he played for Mumbai City FC in 2016, so he has been to India as a player. His provisional squad of 46 included Federico Valverde, Ronald Araújo and Darwin Núñez, and Luis Suárez was not selected. Provisional lists are cut down before the trip, so check the final 26 nearer the time.

After the big three: New Zealand in November

India's next window brings two friendlies in New Zealand: at Go Media Stadium in Auckland on 12 November and at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch on 15 November, according to the AIFF. It will be India's first visit to New Zealand and the first trip to an Oceania Football Confederation country since two friendlies against Fiji in 2005. The games are part of a "100 Years of Unity Through Sport" programme between the two countries.

The SAFF Championship is also scheduled for 4 to 17 November in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with India in a group with Pakistan and Maldives, and its dates overlap with the New Zealand trip. We have not seen an announcement on which squad India will send where, so we are not guessing.

India squad for Panama, Brazil and Uruguay

Khalid Jamil's 26 players, as named by the AIFF on 31 August. Four reserves can be called up if needed: Hrithik Tiwari (goalkeeper), Chinglensana Singh Konsham and Roshan Singh Naorem (defenders) and Suresh Singh Wangjam (midfielder).

Sunil Chhetri, India's record scorer, is not in the squad. Jamil has said India are building a new team and that he did not ask Chhetri to come back. The camp started on 14 September in Bengaluru, and the squad moves to Kolkata on 28 September.

How to watch, and how to get tickets

Sony Sports Network has the live telecast of all three friendlies and SonyLIV will stream them. Tickets are sold through District by Zomato, on the app or the website, by choosing the city, either Bengaluru or Kolkata, and picking the match.

Use only the District listing linked from the AIFF announcements. If your ticket shows a different time from the one on this page, trust the ticket.

Play along while you wait

The free Football Quiz on FootballDream has a World Cup 2026 topic and runs live against friends. FootballQuest gives you one mystery footballer a day, and nationality is the first clue, which makes it a decent warm-up for a week of Panama, Brazil and Uruguay.