The Indian national team is likely not to participate in the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 after the Indian Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed that the national team will play a friendly match with Brazil on October 3.
The match takes place at Salt Lake Stadium (Kolkata), right on the closing day of FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 (September 24 - October 10). This makes the possibility of the Indian team participating in the tournament in Southeast Asia unlikely due to match schedule overlap.
AIFF announced: "One day will go down in history. The Indian national team will meet Brazil in a FIFA international friendly match at Salt Lake Stadium on October 3rd".
AIFF Deputy Secretary General Satyanarayan assessed that this will be a memorable milestone for Indian football.
Welcoming a team of Brazilian stature to our country is a special moment and will become a milestone in Indian football history," he said.
Meanwhile, Indian national team director Subrata Paul believes that the confrontation with the team that has won the World Cup 5 times will bring a valuable opportunity for players to accumulate experience against one of the leading football nations in the world.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) also confirmed that the match against India is in the national team's competition plan for the FIFA Days in October.
According to FIFA's initial plan, FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 will feature three guest teams from outside Southeast Asia including India, Pakistan and Hong Kong (China). The Indian national team is placed in Group A Division 1 with Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
If prioritizing a friendly match with Brazil, India will be the next guest team not to participate in the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026. Previously, the Chinese team decided to withdraw to organize an international friendly tournament with opponents Uzbekistan, North Korea, Tajikistan and Palestine to prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup.
Up to now, both FIFA and AIFF have not issued official announcements about whether the Indian national team will withdraw from the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 or not. However, the overlapping schedule makes it very likely that the South Asian team will be absent from the tournament.
