India Attains 99th Spot in the FIFA Ranking After Beating Lebanon and Kuwait in the SAFF Championships

India gains the 99th position in the FIFA ranking after winning against Kuwait and Lebanon after an overwhelming penalty shoot-out in the SAFF Championships.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: 2023-07-21 10:46:42

Earlier this month, the Indian men’s football team had taken down two strong teams – Kuwait and Lebanon in the final and semi-final, respectively of the SAFF Championships. The games had taken place in Bengaluru. It was the penalty shoot-outs that changed the competition for the nation. And the wins helped the Indian team to move up by a spot in the FIFA rankings from the previous 100^th to 99^th. And since 2018 it is the first time that the Indian men’s football team has accounted for a place within 100^th rank.

Currently, the 100^th spot belongs to Lebanon, the team has moved up spots as well and is under India by just one position. For Kuwait, the rank is 137 after it gained four places on Thursday in the latest FIFA chart. India now is a master of 1208.69 points. While Kuwait and Lebanon were welcomed in the SAFF Championships within the circle of West Asian countries to strengthen the competition, it was India that took the leap and created a history for itself in the tournament considering the last few years.

In 1996, the team India achieved its best FIFA ranking. And that was for the 94^th spot. In 1993, the country attained the 99^th spot, wherein in 2017 and 2018, it was at the 96^th position. Then last month, it made it to the 100^th rank. As for the toppers, Argentina, the world champions, kept hooked on the first spot. They are followed by France, Brazil, England, and Belgium. When talking about the Asian subcontinent, the 20^th spot is held by Japan, while Iran is in the 22^nd position. The 54^th rank is for Saudi Arabia. Australia is at the 27^th rank and Korea is at the 28^th.