Looking back at Indian football team's FIFA ranking graph in 2024

The Indian football team ended the year at a disappointing 126th spot in FIFA rankings.

The Indian Football Team‘s journey in 2024 has been a turbulent trail of struggle and sorrow, marked by setbacks in both results and rankings. The team struggled to find consistency in their performances, resulting in a winless streak throughout the year. Let’s delve into the FIFA World Rankings they held throughout the year 2024.

India began the year at one of their highest FIFA rankings of all time, comfortably positioned at 102 as they entered the AFC Asian Cup in January. However, their campaign ended in disappointment with a group-stage knockout, as they lost all three matches against Australia, Uzbekistan, and Syria without scoring a single goal. This early exit led to the first hit in the rankings, causing India to drop to 117 in the February update.

The Blue Tigers looked to bounce back in the FIFA World Cup Qualifier fixtures against Afghanistan in March, but the first game ended in a goalless draw, and the second resulted in a defeat.

However, they found a silver lining in the defeat when Sunil Chhetri converted a penalty to score their first goal of the year. A victory continued to elude them, and India slipped to 121 in the April rankings.

The struggles continued through the World Cup qualifiers, as India faced another goalless draw against Kuwait and suffered a defeat against Qatar, leading to their elimination from the qualifiers in the second round. These poor performances marked the end of Igor Stimac‘s tenure as the head coach of the Indian national team. Consequently, they dropped to 124th in the June rankings.

India remained 124th in the July rankings, having not played a game in July and August. However, during this period, significant managerial changes took place, with Manolo Marquez, one of the renowned figures in Indian football, taking charge as the new head coach of the Indian team in July, bringing new hope for the Blue Tigers.

Next up for India was the Intercontinental Cup in September, where Manolo Marquez took charge for his first game as the national team’s head coach. The fans and players were eager to turn things around, hoping for a solid performance to lift the cup.

However, the story was no different, as the cup fixtures ended with another goalless draw against Mauritius and a hefty 3-0 defeat against Syria, marking a disappointing start to the Manolo Marquez era. India once again fell in the rankings, tumbling to 126th in the September update.

During the international break in October, India agreed to participate in a tri-nation tournament in Vietnam, preparing to face the hosts and Lebanon in two friendlies. However, the series was reduced to a single game against Vietnam after Lebanon opted out of the tournament due to travel issues caused by the ongoing war crisis.

The Blue Tigers played out a 1-1 draw against Vietnam, putting up a strong fight in the second half to recover from an own goal conceded in the first half. The team finally showed resilience under the new manager, and this result instilled optimism in the camp. It also marked the first rise in India’s ranking for the year, as they climbed one spot to 125th in the October update.

However, the happiness was short-lived, as India sank to 127th in the November rankings, marking their worst position of the year. This came after India played their final fixture of 2024, a friendly against Malaysia during the November international break. India fought back in the game with an equalizer from Rahul Bheke, securing a 1-1 draw in Hyderabad.

Although the team showed some fight under Manolo Marquez towards the end of the year, the hard-fought draws could not save them from a poor ranking, as the overall performances throughout the year were lacking.

One last silver lining in the rankings came for India in the December update, as they secured a final rise, climbing one spot to end the year at 126th. However, it remains a year to forget for the Indian football team, as they failed to secure a single victory, going winless throughout the year while scoring only four goals across all fixtures. Nevertheless, with a new year ahead and so much more to achieve under new guidance that has shown promise, the Blue Tigers will hope for only good things to come in the future.

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