Panama did not score at the World Cup, and India have not won in four before they meet in Bengaluru

Panama went to the World Cup in June, played three games and did not score. India went to London in May for the Unity Cup, played two and did not score either. On Friday the two teams meet for the first time, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, with kick-off at 7.30pm IST.

On paper it is a mismatch. Panama are ranked 44th in the world and India 138th. But Panama arrive short of players, with several arriving late from their clubs, and India are at home.

Panama’s World Cup did not go well

Thomas Christiansen’s side were drawn in Group L with England, Croatia and Ghana. They lost 1-0 to Ghana to a goal in stoppage time, 1-0 to Croatia and 2-0 to England, and finished bottom with no points. It was only their second World Cup, after 2018, and they have now lost all six matches they have played at the tournament.

Christiansen has named 27 players for this trip, 14 of whom were at the World Cup, and there are six new faces in the group. The squad has already lost three players to injury, though. The most notable is José Córdoba, the Norwich City centre-back, who hurt his left ankle in a 4-3 defeat to Bolton and did not travel. Only 18 players took part in Panama’s training session in Bengaluru, with the rest arriving in stages from their clubs.

Goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera, full-back Amir Murillo, midfielders Carlos Harvey and Cristian Martínez, and forwards José Fajardo and Tomás Rodríguez are among the World Cup players named in the squad.

India have not won in four

Khalid Jamil’s side come into the game badly out of form. The Unity Cup ended in two defeats without a goal, 2-0 to Jamaica in the semi-final and 1-0 to Zimbabwe in the third-place match, where Prince Dube scored from the penalty spot. India then went to Tajikistan in June and lost the first friendly 3-1 before drawing the second 1-1, when a late penalty took away what would have been a win.

That is four games without a win, and the next two after Panama are Brazil and Uruguay in Kolkata on 3 and 6 October. If India are going to get something out of this window, Bengaluru is the likeliest place.

Jamil has 26 players to choose from. Sandesh Jhingan, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Liston Colaco are not among them. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is expected in goal, with Anwar Ali and Bijoy Varghese likely in the middle of defence, Anirudh Thapa and Lalengmawia Ralte in midfield, and Manvir Singh and Vikram Partap Singh up front. Vikram scored India’s goal in the 1-1 draw in Tajikistan.

A homecoming for Ryan Williams

The most interesting name in the squad might be Ryan Williams. The Bengaluru FC winger, 32, made his India debut in March and has two caps and a goal, but missed India’s recent games through injury. He is back, and the game is at his club ground.

“It’s going to be special in every way, shape and form,” Williams said. “I started my Indian footballing career here in Bangalore, and who would have thought three years ago that I would have been pulling on the jersey for India.”

India have scored two goals in their last four games, so a winger who can carry the ball forward is worth having back. Against a Panama side that could be missing a few regulars, and whose World Cup showed how hard they find goals, a narrow defeat or a draw is not an unrealistic target. A win would make the trip to Kolkata feel very different.

The match is live on Sony Sports Ten 2 and Sony Aath, and streaming on Sony LIV.

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