The Indian men’s football team has climbed up to 125th in the official rankings released by the world football governing body FIFA on Thursday.
The reason behind India’s movement from 126th to 125th is the points picked up in the draw against Vietnam in the friendly game earlier this month. India fought hard to draw 1-1 against Vietnam courtesy of a goal from Farukh Choudhary in the second half.
India was awarded 0.26 points and hence moved slightly upwards in the ranking. This is the first time India has climbed up in the rankings this year.
Starting the year at 102nd position, India dropped to 117th in February after a poor show at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup where India failed to win any game.
India further slipped to 124th and then 126th in the last updated rankings in September.
Important friendly against Malaysia
India will play a friendly against Malaysia next month and it will be an important friendly for both countries.
India is yet to win a game in the year 2024 and they need to win to go winless in the entire year. Malaysia defeated India in their last meeting at the Merdeka Cup in 2023.
A win against Malaysia can also help India pick up more FIFA points and potentially climb up the FIFA World Rankings by a few more places before the end of the year.
The pressure will be on the new coach Manolo Marquez to improve rankings by the end of the year and enter 2025 with more confidence.