India slips to 136th position in FIFA rankings, Spain tops

New Delhi, October 17 (IANS). The disappointing performance of the Indian football team continues at the international level. The men’s senior national team dropped to 136th in the FIFA world rankings. This is the lowest ranking of the Indian team since November 2016. The new rankings released on Friday further added to the problems of the Indian team. The Indian team is out of the running for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. India’s fortunes, seen as an emerging team after wins in the Intercontinental Cup, SAFF Championship and Tri-Nation Series in 2023, have plummeted in the last one year. India’s performance in the AFC Asian Cup held in Qatar earlier this year was very disappointing. The team was eliminated in the group stage with three defeats without scoring a single goal. The team has been struggling ever since. Three head coaches changed in less than two years. Igor Stimac was the first to be shown the door, followed by Manolo Marquez. Khalid Jameel was replaced earlier this year. Despite the progress under Jamil’s leadership, particularly during the CFA Nations Cup, a friendly tournament where India showed tactical improvement, results in competitive matches have been disappointing. The team’s last win in a competitive game came almost a year ago in November 2023 with a 1–0 victory over Kuwait. Globally, Spain retained the top spot in the FIFA men’s rankings, ahead of World Cup winners Argentina and third-placed France. England, Portugal, the Netherlands, Brazil and Belgium are in the top eight. Germany moved up two places to 10th after back-to-back qualifying wins over Luxembourg and Northern Ireland, while 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia dropped to 11th after a draw against the Czech Republic. –IANS PAK Share this story Tags