15 February,2024 05:51 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
This was India`s worst ranking after it was placed at 129th spot in January 2017 chart (Pic: AFP)
The Indian football team on Thursday dropped 15 places to 117th in the FIFA rankings, the worst in seven years, after the recent debacle in the AFC Asian Cup, where it lost all its three group matches.
This was India's worst ranking after it was placed at 129th spot in January 2017 chart. The historical worst ranking, though, was 173 in 2015.
The Indian team was placed at 102nd in the last FIFA rankings, issued on December 21, 2023.
India also lost 35.63 rating points from the previous total. It now lies in between Togo (116th) and Guinea-Bissau (118th). The country is ranked 22nd among the Asian nations.
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India, under Igor Stimac, ended their Asian Cup campaign in January pointless and goal-less after losing to Australia (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-3) and Syria (0-1). It finished at the bottom of the four-team Group B.
The main movers were the countries of Asia and Africa as they had their continental championships during this period. There was no change in the top-10 with world champion Argentina still leading the pack. France, England, Belgium and Brazil follow Argentina in that order.
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AFC Asian Cup champions Qatar rose 21 places to 37th, though Japan, which dropped one spot to 18th, still leads the continental rankings. Surprise Asian Cup runners up Jordan gained 17 places to occupy 70th spot.
India ended their Asian Cup campaign pointless and goal-less, and head coach Igor Stimac admitted that his team needs players with confidence in front of opposition goal, a significant statement considering the likely retirement of talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri in the next few years.
It's no secret that the Indian team lacks a quality striker, apart from Chhetri, 39, though Stimac understandably would often play down such concerns in the past. But, he chose to be candid after India lost 0-1 to Syria on Tuesday to crash out of the Asian Cup with an all-loss record.
(With agency inputs)
