India ranked 100th in latest FIFA World Rankings

This puts the Blue Tigers in Pot two for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

India's men's national football team have recently made a significant gain in the FIFA World Rankings that got released recently. The Blue Tigers moved up from the 101st to the 100th rank.

This advancement now keeps India as the 18th-ranked team in Asia and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In the month of June alone, India have gained 4.24 ranking points in seven matches.

This move is a crucial development that will heavily impact the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers draw. Due to Lebanon's one-point decrease following their defeat to India in the Intercontinental Cup final, the two nations' positions in the AFC standings have switched.

Chance for better WC qualifiers group from Pot 2

This rise in rankings places India in Pot two for the draw of the second round of World Cup qualifiers, while Lebanon drops to Pot three as things stand. If India manages to maintain their FIFA ranking after the SAFF Championship, they will be the lowest-ranked team in Pot 2, effectively avoiding eight out of the 17 higher-ranked Asian nations in the qualifiers.

Achieving a place in the top 100 of the global rankings for the first time since March 2018 (when they were ranked 99th) is a remarkable feat for India's head coach Igor Stimac and his team. As they gear up for the SAFF Championship semifinals, this ranking improvement further solidifies their progress.

Dream run

The Indian team has been on an impressive run, remaining unbeaten in 2023 so far, with two draws and seven victories since their defeat to Vietnam in the VFF Tri-Series in September 2022. Their strong home record, having remained undefeated for nearly four years, underscores their resilience.

The last loss on home soil came against Oman in a 1-2 defeat during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.

India's recent triumphs include winning the Tri-Nation Series in Manipur and the Hero Intercontinental Cup, where they secured comfortable victories against higher-ranked opponents like Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon. Their upcoming SAFF Championship semifinal match against Lebanon on July 1 will be crucial not only for their tournament aspirations, but also for their FIFA ranking, with the next update scheduled for July 20.