The Indian men’s football team has slipped two places in the latest FIFA ranking released on Thursday. India have dropped in the standings despite being unbeaten in September. Igor Stimac’s men played two friendlies against Nepal in the first week of this month to prepare themselves for the upcoming 2021 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, which is slated to kick off next month in the Maldives.
While India were held to a 1-1 draw by Nepal in their first international friendly at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu, they won the second encounter 2-1. Meanwhile, the Nepal team is static at the 168th spot in the latest FIFA rankings.
The Indian squad is again set to meet Nepal in SAFF Champions’ in the Group stage of the league on October 10.
Other than Nepal and India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives will also take part in SAFF Championship. Pakistan will miss the 13th edition of the tournament due to FIFA’s sanction. Bhutan abstained from participation due to their government’s refusal to let their players travel abroad in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moving on to India’s SAFF rivals, after India, Maldives (158) are the top-ranked team in FIFA rankings from SAFF Championship. Bangladesh have also slipped one place and currently occupy 189th spot in FIFA standings while Sri Lanka is stable at 205.
Iran is the highest-ranked Asian team in FIFA rankings. They currently occupy the 22nd spot while Japan is placed at the 26th position.
Top ten teams in the world
Overall Belgium is leading the FIFA chart with 1832.33 points followed by Brazil (1811.73 points), England (1755.44), France (1754.31 points) and Italy (1735.73 points).
The next five spots in the list are reserved by Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Mexico and Denmark respectively.
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