India jump five places to 101 in April FIFA rankings

The Blue Tigers close in on the top 100 ranking following a successful Tri-Nation tournament.

India have climbed up to the 101 position in the latest FIFA World Rankings after their success in the Tri-Nation tournament. They’ve climbed five places in the latest rankings and are now very close to breaking into the top 100 in the rankings for the first time in the post-Covid-19 era.

FIFA announced their latest world rankings on Thursday, in which World Champions Argentina climbed to the number one position. Japan (no.20) still remains the highest-ranked AFC (Asian Football Confederation) team after impressing at the World Cup.

India make an impressive climb up the FIFA Rankings Table

However, the Blue Tigers have made an encouraging climb up the rankings after participating in their first few games of 2023. India impressed at the Tri-Nation Tournament, defeating both Myanmar and the Kyrgyz Republic national team in a compelling fashion.

This allowed them to lift the Tri-Nation trophy, which was a FIFA-affiliated competition. As a result, the federation considered India’s victories in that competition and have granted them 8.57 points as a result. With that, India’s total FIFA ranking points have been increased from 1192.09 to 1200.66 in the latest update.

The Kyrgyz Republic team, for example, have had a 7.47 points deduction for their poor outing in the international break – even though they still remain ahead of India in the World Rankings. As a matter of fact, India’s points gained during the latest ranking update are the fifth-most points any AFC team received from FIFA.

After swinging around the early-100s position for the past few years, India have finally been able to make genuine movement up the ladder. The last time when they were in the top 100 of the world rankings was during Stephen Constantine’s reign before the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

What lies in the future for The Blue Tigers?

After the latest round of international fixtures, the India national team are not expected to gather together for a few more months. Most of the players are now focused on regrouping for their respective clubs for the upcoming Super Cup – which will go on till the end of April.

For the time being, there are no scheduled fixtures for Igor Stimac's men once the domestic season is over. India will be participating in the 2023 Merdeka Cup – which will take place from October 14-17.

There will be international windows before that too and it remains to be seen if any matches can be scheduled for then – with there being a possibility that the Intercontinental Cup is brought back during the June-July period.

One thing which is guaranteed is that India needs to constantly keep playing – and winning – matches to climb up the FIFA World Rankings ladder. While climbing five places after winning two matches might delight Igor Stimac & co, the goal will be to get into the top-100 place moving into the AFC Asian Cup next year.