Bengaluru: Panama were stuck in Bengaluru’s notorious traffic for two hours and arrived 29 minutes late for the clash against India. The World Cuppers had five debutants, some players didn’t even train properly after missing long-haul flights. But, at the end of the friendly, coach Thomas Christiansen had no hesitation in admitting: “they made it difficult for us.”




There is a difference of 94 places in FIFA rankings between India and Panama. The Central Americans have also played two of the last three World Cups. In June this year, Christiansen’s side suffered agonising losses against Ghana and Croatia; they were decent against eventual semifinalists England.




“On the field, I was not surprised with how India approached the game,” said Christiansen, who’s been in-charge of Panama for six years and took them to the FIFA World Cup. “I expected this. Team ranking does not matter; if you give India space, time, then they can do whatever they want. India has quality players that made it difficult for us. Our team was not organised.”




Except probably for coach Khalid Jamil and his players, nobody really believed India could secure a draw against the World Cuppers at the Sree Kanteerava stadium here on Friday. Seven of India’s 11 players who were handpicked to start the game were playing their first competitive game of the season. It was short on experience too; three of them – Ricky Shabong (4), Abhishek Singh Tekcham (4) and Bijoy Varghese (3) – have collectively played just 11 international matches.




Yet, India were stubborn. They tracked every run like their lives depended on it, pressed hard and took Panama by surprise.




“With a little more belief, we could have won,” Jamil later told TOI.




Nobody will disagree.




“We conceded the goal because, in the second half, there was a little bit lack of concentration. Our performance was good. We defended well. All credit goes to the players. When we play against quality teams, they can hurt us anytime. We should have this belief that we can always do better.”




Ryan Williams , the Australian forward who surrendered his citizenship and took up an Indian passport last year, was the player of the match. It was just his third appearance for his adopted country and he has already scored twice.




“It’s a performance that we should all be really proud of,” said Williams, who gave India a stunning first-half lead. “We had belief from the start. It's been a good camp. Everyone's been very free, happy, high-spirited. All we need to do is maintain that when the camps keep coming. I think we are definitely on the right path.”