Mohun Bagan Super Giant booked their place in the 2026 IFA Shield final after beating Punjab FC 4-3 on penalties following a tight semifinal at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan.
Goalkeeper Vishal Kaith emerged as one of the key figures in the shootout, making two important saves, before summer signing Miguel Ferreira converted the decisive penalty. Mohun Bagan will now meet the winner of the East Bengal versus NorthEast United semifinal in the title clash.
The evening also carried extra significance for Bagan coach Panagiotis Dilmperis, who was facing his former club. After warmly greeting Punjab players before the game, his focus quickly shifted to guiding the Mariners through a difficult contest.
Bagan started brightly and nearly opened the scoring after 10 minutes. Arshdeep Singh brought down Asish Rai just outside the penalty area, with the Bagan defender subsequently leaving the field with shoulder support. Lee Erwin stepped up for the resulting free-kick and curled a left-footed effort towards the top corner. Arshdeep managed to get a glove on the ball before it struck the post.
Punjab grew into the contest and threatened before half-time when Raphael Messi Bouli, Bishu Sharma and Alfred Moya combined well. Moya eventually shot towards goal, but Kaith collected comfortably.
At the other end, Lallianzuala Chhangte tested Arshdeep with a volley following Samir Zeljkovic’s cross, but the goalkeeper responded with a strong save.
Dilmperis introduced Ferreira for Liston Colaco after the break, although Punjab continued to create opportunities. Moya went close again after combining with Bishu, sending an effort onto the top of the net.
Bagan thought they had finally broken the deadlock in the 85th minute when Subhasish Bose headed Ferreira’s free-kick into the net. The effort was ruled out for offside.
Neither team could find a breakthrough in extra time, despite Messi Bouli testing Kaith and Suhail Ahmed Bhat having an attempt blocked.
The semifinal was therefore decided from the spot.
Messi Bouli and Arshvir Singh converted for Punjab, but Kaith denied both Ngarin Shaiza and Vishal Yadav. Dejan Drazic later saw his penalty saved, but Ferreira remained composed to score the decisive kick and send Bagan into the final.
After a tense evening against his former side, Dilmperis could smile again as the green-and-maroon supporters celebrated another IFA Shield final appearance.
