2026 IFA Shield
Football tournament season
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The 2026 IFA Shield is the 126th edition of the IFA Shield hosted by the Indian Football Association. The tournament will be held between 22 September–8 October before the start of the Indian Football League and Indian Super League.[1]
| ২০২৬ আইএফএ শিল্ড | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tournament details | |
| Country | India |
| Dates | 23 September – 8 October |
| Teams | 6 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 8 |
| Goals scored | 32 (4 per match) |
| Attendance | 20,601 (2,575 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | David Lalhlansanga Lallianzuala Chhangte Raphaël Messi Bouli (3 goals each) |
The tournament will feature domestic teams from the Indian Super League and Indian Football League. Defending champions Mohun Bagan SG along with East Bengal, Mohammedan, NorthEast United, Punjab and Sreenidhi Deccan were confirmed as the 6 participants by the IFA.[2]
Teams
Here is the list of confirmed teams:[3] However, Mohammedan withdrew their name and Calcutta Customs was taken in as a replacement.[4]
Venues
Format
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MBG | NEU | SDC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohun Bagan SG (H) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 4 | Advance to the Semi-Final | 1–1 | 6–0 | ||
| 2 | NorthEast United | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 | 3–0 | ||||
| 3 | Sreenidi Deccan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
| Sreenidi Deccan | 0–6 | Mohun Bagan SG |
|---|---|---|
| Report PDF Report |
|
Man of the Match: Lallianzuala Chhangte (Mohun Bagan SG)
Man of the Match: Alaeddine Ajaraie (NorthEast United)
Man of the Match: Dipesh Chauhan (NorthEast United)
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PFC | EAB | CCC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Punjab | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 6 | Advance to the Semi-Final | 1–0 | 7–0 | ||
| 2 | East Bengal (H) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | 3–1 | ||||
| 3 | Calcutta Customs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
| Calcutta Customs | 1–3 | East Bengal |
|---|---|---|
|
Report PDF Report |
Man of the Match: Rohit Kumar (East Bengal)
| Calcutta Customs | 0–7 | Punjab |
|---|---|---|
| Report PDF Report |
|
Man of the Match: Raphaël Messi Bouli (Punjab)
| Punjab | 1–0 | East Bengal |
|---|---|---|
|
Report PDF Report |
Man of the Match: Diego Raposo (Punjab)
Semi Finals
The draws for the semi finals were held at the Indian Football Association on 30 September 2026.[5]
Bracket
In the knockout stage, for any draws matches would be directly decided by a penalty shootout.
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 4 October – Kishore Bharati | ||||||
| Mohun Bagan SG (p) | 0 (4) | |||||
| 8 October – TBD | ||||||
| Punjab | 0 (3) | |||||
| Mohun Bagan SG | ||||||
| 5 October – Kishore Bharati | ||||||
| East Bengal | ||||||
| East Bengal | 7 | |||||
| NorthEast United | 2 | |||||
Matches
| Mohun Bagan SG | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Punjab |
|---|---|---|
| Report PDF Report |
||
| Penalties | ||
| 4–3 |
|
|
Man of the Match: Vishal Kaith (Mohun Bagan SG)
| East Bengal | 7–2 | NorthEast United |
|---|---|---|
|
Report PDF Report |
|
Man of the Match: David Lalhlansanga (East Bengal)
Final
Man of the Match:
Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 32 goals scored in 8 matches, for an average of 4 goals per match.
3 goals
David Lalhlansanga (East Bengal)- Lallianzuala Chhangte (Mohun Bagan SG)
Raphaël Messi Bouli (Punjab)
Alaeddine Ajaraie (NorthEast United)
2 goals
Lee Erwin (Mohun Bagan SG)- Rohit Kumar (East Bengal)
1 goal
- Abhishek Suryavanshi (Mohun Bagan SG)
Aké Arnaud Loba (East Bengal)
Chris Ikonomidis (East Bengal)
Łukasz Zwoliński (East Bengal)- Sandeep Malik (Mohun Bagan SG)
- Rohit Danu (East Bengal)
- Akash Hemram (East Bengal)
- Riki Gharami (Calcutta Customs)
- Jithin MS (NorthEast United)
- Danny Meitei Laishram (NorthEast United)
- Konsam Sanathoi Singh (Punjab)
- Bishu Sharma (Punjab)
Alfred Planas (Punjab)- Gurkirat Singh (Punjab)
- Ethyan González (NorthEast United)
Diego Raposo (Punjab)
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 David Lalhlansanga |
East Bengal FC | NorthEast United | 7–2 | 5 October 2026 | [6] |
| Lallianzuala Chhangte |
Mohun Bagan SG | Sreenidhi Deccan | 0–6 | 23 September 2026 | [7] |
 Raphaël Messi Bouli |
Punjab | Calcutta Customs | 0–7 | 27 September 2026 | [8] |
Clean sheets
- 2 Clean sheets
- Arshdeep Singh (Punjab)
- 1 Clean sheet
- Vishal Kaith (Mohun Bagan SG)
- Gurmeet Singh (NorthEast United)