By India Blooms News Service Jul 21, 2023
Indian mens football team moved up one rung to the 99th slot in the latest FIFA rankings announced on Thursday, achieving its best position since 2018 when it took the 96th place.
India displaced African rival Mauritania to improve upon the 100th position it had occupied in the previous rankings published by the world football governing body on June 29.
India is also now only five steps away from reaching its highest ranking of 94, attained more than two and half decades back in 1996, when it had the services of the redoubtable Bhaichung Bhutia and I M Vijayan upfront and Carlton Chapman in the midfield.
The retirement of these stars saw Indias performance nosedive, and the country found itself among the backbenchers at world number 171 in 2014.
However, things took a turn for the better thereafter, as the cash-rich franchisee-based Indian Super League came into existence, while the All India Football Federation brought back the Anglo-Cypriot Stephen Constantine as coach.
Indias steady climb in the FIFA ladder this year from the 106th spot in December, 2022, has come on the back of some sterling performances of the national team. Led by the evergreen Sunil Chhetri and under the Croat head coach Igor Stimac, the Indian men won the Tri-Nation Series in March and the Intercontinental Cup in June.
Continuing the winning run, earlier this month, hosts India lifted the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup defeating formidable Kuwait 5-4 on penalties in the final played at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
The Indian football fans would have much to cheer for in the coming months, as the national side plays the Kings Cup in Thailand in September, and the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia the next month before the FIFA World Cup qualifiers kick off in November-December.