India have never played Brazil, and Raphinha is out before the first meeting in Kolkata
Khalid Jamil’s India, ranked 138th, face world No. 5 Brazil at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, the highest-ranked opponent they have met since FIFA rankings began.
Oct 3, 2026
India have never played Brazil at senior men’s level. That changes at 7.30pm IST on Saturday at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, where Khalid Jamil’s side face the five-time world champions in a FIFA international friendly.
The gap on paper is about as wide as football gets. Brazil are fifth in the FIFA rankings. India were 138th when this window was announced, and Brazil are the highest-ranked side they have faced since the rankings began.
Brazil arrive from Brisbane without Raphinha
Carlo Ancelotti’s squad come to Kolkata off a 4-2 win over Australia in Brisbane on Tuesday, played in front of 52,423. Vanderson scored in the third minute, Australia turned it round to lead 2-1, and Raphinha, captaining the side, levelled from the spot just before half-time. Bruno Guimaraes put Brazil back in front and Vinicius Junior added a penalty ten minutes from the end.
Raphinha will not play on Saturday. He came off at half-time in Brisbane, a scan showed a small muscle oedema in his right thigh, and the Brazilian federation sent him back to Barcelona as a precaution. It is not being treated as serious, but Brazil were not going to risk it for a friendly.
That still leaves Ancelotti plenty. Vinicius leads an attack that includes Endrick, Estevao, Rayan, Pedro and Samuel Lino. This is a post-World Cup squad and Ancelotti is still shaping it, and with Raphinha gone there will be at least one change from the side that started in Brisbane.
India’s point against Panama
India go in on the back of a 1-1 draw with Panama at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on 25 September. Ryan Williams ran on to an Akash Mishra pass to score in the 41st minute. Panama, 44th in the world and at the World Cup this summer, sit 94 places above India, so a draw was a decent marker for a side Jamil is rebuilding.
Sunil Chhetri is not part of that rebuild. Jamil said before the window that India are building a new team and he did not ask Chhetri to come back. The 26-man squad leans on Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in goal, Anwar Ali and Akash Mishra in defence, and Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad in midfield, with Williams, Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Vikram Partap Singh, Edmund Lalrindika and Irfan Yadwad up front.
What Jamil wants
Jamil kept his message short at the pre-match press conference in Kolkata. He wants his players doing simple things and nothing extra against a side of Brazil’s quality. “Any mistake will cost us badly,” he said.
Anwar Ali sat alongside him. His line was about staying calm, which is easier to say the day before you face Vinicius than during the game.
A clean sheet is not the realistic target. Keeping the score respectable and finding one or two moments in the Brazil half would count as a good night. Uruguay come to the same ground on 6 October, three days later, so it would be no surprise if Jamil spreads the minutes around.
The match is on Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV.