The Indian men’s football team dropped four places to 121 in the latest FIFA rankings, the worst in recent years, after an embarrassing 1-2 defeat to Afghanistan in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Guwahati last month. The Igor Stimac-coached side, which broke into the top 100 last year after winning the Intercontinental Cup, the Tri-Nations tournament and the SAFF Championship, suffered a shock defeat at home to low-ranked Afghanistan on March 26. his bad run lately.
Even though the team recorded a victory against Kuwait in the World Cup qualifiers, the first away win in more than twenty years, the forgettable performance at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, where the team lost all its matches without a single goal score, saw it plummet 15 places to 117th after the continental tournament.
India ended their Asian Cup campaign in January pointless and goalless after losing to Australia (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-3) and Syria (0-1). It finished bottom of Group B with four teams.
Last month, the Blue Tigers were held to a goalless draw by Afghanistan in their second-round World Cup qualifier in Abha, Saudi Arabia, and then lost the home leg, sparking fan outrage and calls for Stimac’s sacking .
However, India’s worst ranking is 173.
Before dropping 15 places to 117 in March, the Indian team was ranked 102nd in the FIFA rankings published on December 21, 2023.
Reigning world champions Argentina remain at the top of the list, followed by 2022 World Cup runners-up France, England, Belgium and Brazil.
The Netherlands is in sixth place, followed by Portugal, Spain and Italy, while Croatia completes the top 10.
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