A clash against the mighty Brazilian football team for the first time in history will be witnessed by all fans when India plays against the five-time world champion side in an international friendly match in Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on October 3, 2026.
It will be the first time that the senior men's national teams of both countries have faced each other. Brazil, ranked fifth in the world, will play against India, which is 138th in the world ranking.
This match will begin at 7:30 PM IST according to information available on the ticketing website, District, and ESPN. In Brazilian time, this translates into 11:00 AM Brasilia time on the same Saturday morning.
Salt Lake Stadium is a venue that is historically significant for the sport of football in India, as it was here that veteran team captain Sunil Chhetri played his last match against Kuwait in June 2024 before making a comeback to the national team.
The match shall be televised live on networks such as Sony Sports 2, Sony Sports 3, Sony Sports 4, and Sony Aath, while Sony Aath broadcasts it in commentary in the Bengali language.
People watching from outside India will be able to see the game through TV Globo, which is the free-to-air channel of Brazil; SporTV, which is a pay-per-view channel; and Globoplay. Viewers in the US should keep in mind that channels like ESPN or FS1 do not have the rights to air this friendly match.
Khalid Jamil, coach of India, has selected his team for the match, which will feature Albino Gomes, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, and Prabhsukhan Singh Gill in goal as well as an array of some of both experienced players and some promising youngsters in field positions.
Some of the players who have qualified to play in India's team include Som Kumar, Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Anwar Ali, Bijoy Varghese, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Jay Gupta, Pramveer, and Ricky Meetei.
The approach to be used by Jamil has to be this particular one since it was the strategy used by India in their game against Panama, which resulted in India drawing 1-1 because it is the only strategy that has proven effective for India during the period of international matches.
The line-up is expected to be made up of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in goal; Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Anwar Ali, Bijoy Varghese, and Akash Mishra in the defense; Vikram Partap Singh, Lalengmawia Ralte, Ricky Shabong, and Ashique Kuruniyan in midfield; and Ryan Williams and Manvir Singh upfront.
Brazil have arrived in India under the management of Carlo Ancelotti with a full-strength team as per the reports in The Telegraph from the AIFF official that had played a couple of friendly matches with Australia in the same international break.
The selected list includes the goalkeepers Hugo Souza and Pedro Morisco, along with Otavio, Arthur Dias, Douglas Santos, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jair, Marquinhos, Matheuzinho, Mauro Junior, Vitor Reis, and Wesley in the defense department.
The midfield and attack departments include Andrey Santos, Breno Bidon, Bruno Guimaraes, Danilo Santos, Douglas Luiz, Gabriel, etc., where Vinicius Junior is the standout player in the lineup, who is the main attraction for Indian fans.
A potential starting lineup for Brazil includes Pedro Morisco in goal position, back four in the form of Matheuzinho, Marquinhos, Arthur Dias, and Douglas Santos; Danilo, Andrey Santos, and Gabriel Bontempo in midfield; and Estevao, Pedro, and Vinicius Junior in attack.
Ticketing for the game is available live on District, with tickets priced at ₹999 onwards.
In light of the significance of the game and the international reputation of Brazil, ticket sales are bound to be strong.
For India's football team, this particular match provides them with a very rare chance to measure themselves against top-class opponents, coming immediately after their draw against Panama and before their match against Uruguay—thus providing India with three big international matches within a very short period.
The visit by Brazil is in line with their international friendly matches, which have included games against Australia, as Ancelotti keeps selecting his team for future games.
The pre-match press conference was held by India's coach Khalid Jamil and defender Anwar Ali on one hand, while Carlo Ancelotti and defender Marquinhos represented Brazil.
In spite of being the team that is associated with the most glorious past when it comes to football, with five World Cup wins under its belt, these two teams have never had a meeting at the international seniors’ level before this game.
The lack of previous encounters between these teams makes this match even more special in terms of significance for Indian football.
