The official FIFA rankings are out and the internet has been flooded with posts and tweets ever since. The Indian Men’s football team stood at the 105th position in the previous announcement. They have fallen by two spots in the current rankings to finish at the 107th position. A minor setback in a year where the team has lost even as bad as 0-6.
Igor Stimac’s squad played 7 games this year consisting 3 draws, 2 wins and 2 losses meant that the team was bound to take a hit this time. Their first game was against Oman in March which they drew 1-1, the scoreline of all the games that were drawn. This match was their first in 16 months. The last time they played an international, they lost to Oman 0-1 in the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers.
Following the draw against Oman, they were bamboozled 0-6 by UAE. A narrow 0-1 loss to Qatar meant that their winless streak extended to 10 games. Any sign of the dubious streak continuing were erased by a strong performance against Bangladesh which they won 2-0. Geographical neighbours Afghanistan held the men in blue to a 1-1 draw as did Nepal 3 months later in September. 3 days after the first game against Nepal, the Indian team secured a 2-1 victory over Nepal.
FIFA Rankings elsewhere
The 2 spot slip has put them below Guinea-Bissau and Namibia. Iran rose up 4 places to 22nd to become the leader among the Asian Football Confederation(AFC) nations. The previous leaders Japan were 22nd the last time and this time they are 26th.
Belgium retained their top spot in the FIFA Rankings even though they crashed out of Euro 21 in the quarter-finals. England nudged France out of the top 3, to secure 3rd place behind Brazil. Despite winning the Euros and going on a 37 game unbeaten streak, Italy had to settle for 5th with Copa America winners Argentina right on their tail.
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