India rises to 99 in the FIFA Men's Ranking; officially secures Pot 2 for World Cup Qualifiers

The Indian men's national team entered the sub-100 in the FIFA Rankings for the first time in five years on Thursday, July 20. After the victorious campaigns in the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championship, the Blue Tigers have leapfrogged Lebanon to rise to 99 in the rankings.

Previously, in the June rankings, India was in the 100th spot. The last time the national team had a ranking below 100 was back in December 2018 when they clinched the 99th spot.

Meanwhile, in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Sunil Chhetri and Co. are 18th, rising from 19th previously, with Tajikistan dropping down. The position in AFC is all-important for the national team as they have now officially secured Pot 2 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.

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How has the Indian national team fared recently?

The Blue Tigers have been in formidable form since the turn of the year, winning a treble of international tournaments. Igor Stimac's men started their assignments with the Hero Tri-Nation Cup in March, where they trumped Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan.

In June, after the club season came to an end, the squad assembled for two back-to-back competitions in the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championship. In the former tournament, India breezed through the group stages before setting up a lip-smacking final with Lebanon. After an intense first half, the Blue Tigers pounced in the second half to come away with a 2-0 victory and the title.

The SAFF Cup was expected to be a sterner test for the host nation. However, India started out with a 4-0 hammering of arch-rivals Pakistan before securing a 2-0 victory against Nepal. But Kuwait was a different level of challenge altogether in the final group-stage match. The two teams played out a 1-1 stalemate that had its fair share of drama and chaos.

India faced familiar foes Lebanon in the semi-final and needed the lottery of penalties to secure a berth in the final. In the final showdown, Kuwait and India, once again locked horns for a second bout. There was nothing to separate the two sides in 120 minutes of regulation time as the match ended 1-1.

The dreaded penalties were upon India and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The veteran custodian stepped in with a pivotal save in the sudden death to lead India to their third trophy of the year.

Now with the charge for Top 100 rankings successful, the impetus will be on India to continue the momentum and push higher ahead of the much-anticipated AFC Asian Cup next year.