The Indian men's national football team has climbed up to the 100th rank on FIFA's latest world rankings surpassing teams like Lebanon and New Zealand to achieve the feat. This is after five years that the Indian men's football team entered the top 100 club after slipping away from the 96th position in 2018.
The Indian men's football team reached the 100th rank with a total points of 1204.90. This is the fourth best ranking achieved by the Indian men's football team in the history. The team's rank came up to 94th rank in 1996, 99th in 1993 and 96th rank in 2017 to 2018.
Lionel Messi's Argentina on top
If we talk about the table toppers, FIFA 2022 champions Argentina is on top, and the runners-up France is in second position. Brazil, England, and Belgium are the next three teams on the list. On number 6th is Croatia, then the Netherlands, Italy on 8th, and the last two spots in the top 10 are with Portugal and Spain.
Pakistan is ranked 201, among the last teams in the FIFA rankings. Other South Asian football teams are also way below India like Sri Lanka is ranked 207, Bangladesh at 192, and Nepal at 175.
India vs Lebanon in SAFF semi-finals
The upgrade in FIFA rankings will come as a confidence boost for India before the crucial semi-finals of the South Asia Football Federation on 1 July. India will be going against Lebanon which is ranked 102 in the FIFA world rankings.
India will be hoping to continue their dominance over the SAFF in the semi-finals which will be played in Bengaluru. Since 1993, India has entered all finals of the tournament except in 2003. The Indian men's football team has won the championship record 8 times and is doing exceptionally well in the search for their 9th title.