India (M) drop to worst FIFA rank in nine years

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The Indian men's football team slumped to its lowest ranking in nine years as it dropped six places to 133rd in the latest FIFA rankings released in July 2025, courtesy two losses in June.

India lost to Thailand (0-2) in an international friendly on June 4 before suffering a defeat to lower ranked Hong Kong (0-1) in an Asian Cup qualifying round match, leading to head coach Manolo Marquez's parting of ways with the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

The last time the Indian team had a worse ranking was in December 2016 when it was placed at 135. India's best ever ranking was 94 in February 1996. The Indian team currently has 1113.22 rating points, falling from the 1132.03 it had in the previous rankings. India is now ranked 24th among the 46 Asian (AFC) countries - which is led by Japan (17th).

The loss against Hong Kong has put the side in a difficult position in its bid to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, with India bottom of their group with one point from two games. Only the group winners qualify, and India have tough games coming up against Singaport (home and away), Bangladesh (away) and Hong Kong (home).

After spending the whole of 2024 without a win, which India crash out of FIFA World Cup qualifying, India logged just one win from its last eight matches under Marquez's tutelage, the lone victory coming against Maldives in March.

This year, India have so far played four matches, out of which they have won one, drawn another, and lost two. The poor results and lack of goals prompted the return of former skipper and iconic striker Sunil Chhetri to the squad but that has done little to improve the team's fortunes, nor it's goal-scoring.

India's next scheduled international match is an away fixture against Singapore in the third round of Asian Cup qualifiers in October.

World champions Argentina lead the overall FIFA rankings, followed by Spain, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Croatia.

(with inputs from PTI)

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