Post Asian Cup qualification, India advances to 104 in FIFA ranking

New Delhi: In the latest FIFA world rankings released on Thursday, the Indian football team was able to reap the benefits of its impressive qualification to the Asian Cup. The team jumped two paces to rank no. 104.

The Blue Tigers are just below 103rd ranking New Zealand, who lost their place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup after being defeated 0-1 to Costa Rica in the Intercontinental Playoffs earlier this month.

However, among the members of the Asian Football Confederation, India is still ranked 19th. Among the AFC countries, Iran remained ranked 23rd and retained the top spot. Earlier this month, the team led by Sunil Chhetri had their all-time best Asian Cup qualifiers, winning all three league matches in Group D and advancing to the 24-team final scheduled for 2023.

This is India's fifth overall qualification and the first time the country has qualified for the Asian Cups in a row. In the overall rankings, Brazil retained the top spot three months after advancing over Belgium(2nd).

Argentina moved up one place to third at the expense of France (fourth), who paid for four winless matches in the UEFA Nations League.

England, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark are in the top ten.

The next FIFA world ranking will be out on August 25.

Source – PTI