India vs Panama LIVE SCORE : Ryan Williams scores opening goal; 138th-ranked Blue Tigers take on World No. 44

India will have fond memories of the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the heart of Bengaluru. It was here that it beat Kuwait on penalties to lift the SAFF Championship 2023.

1,178 days ago, to be exact.

The number gets extra daunting because the Blue Tigers have won only one competitive match at home since. Failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the Asian Cup 2027 marked the last three years before freefalling almost 40 places to 138th in the world rankings.

When India returns to the stadium on Friday, it will hope to feed off whatever energy remains and hit the reset button against 44th-ranked Panama, perhaps the least intimidating of India’s three upcoming high-profile FIFA friendlies (Brazil and Uruguay are the others).