The Indian Men’s National Team have been ranked at the 100th place in the latest Fifa Rankings. India climbed one spot by dint of their impressive performances in the Intercontinental and SAFF Cup. Igor Stimac’s team have recently won the Intercontinental Cup by beating Lebanon 2-0 in Odisha.
Source: The Quint
India in Top-100 for the 1st Time Since 2018
A string of good results against Mongolia, Vanuatu, and Lebanon helped India to their Intercontinental Cup victory. They have maintained their unbeaten run in the ongoing SAFF Championship as well, where they will play Lebanon on Saturday in one of the semi-finals. They have now been rewarded with a top-100 place for the first time in five years.
The Blue Tigers have humiliated Pakistan 4-0, beat Nepal by one goal, and were held to a 1-1 draw against Kuwait, on route to their semi-final journey. India’s legendary captain, striker Sunil Chhetri, has scored in four consecutive games, including a hat-trick against arch-rivals Pakistan.
The 38-year-old forward extended his international goal tally to 92 in 140 appearances. He is the third-highest goal-scorer among current players behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and the fourth-highest of all time.
The Bengaluru captain gave India a lead from a fantastic acrobatic effort against Kuwait on Tuesday. However, India did not manage to secure victory by conceding a late equalizer as defender Anwar Ali scored an unfortunate own goal. This came after forward Rahim Ali was sent off after a physical altercation with the Kuwaitis.
India Determined to Extend Unbeaten Run
Captain Chhetri opined after the Kuwait match that the draw feels like a defeat. There was a marked change in the result against an opposition that beat India 1-6 and 1-9 in the past. Chhetri praised his team’s collective performance against a team like Kuwait and said that his teammates were heartbroken for not winning.
The India captain also voiced his support for the young defender, Anwar Ali, following his own goal. Chhetri told reporters, ”It’s not Anwar, it’s the country that conceded.” He is optimistic that the 22-year-old would bounce back with his teammates’ support.
India is set to play Lebanon for the 3rd time in the past month in the semis after the Middle-Eastern nation defeated Maldives 1-0. India would be determined to stretch their unbeaten run on home soil where they have not lost for almost four years.
Argentina on Top
Source: The Independent
World Champions Argentina consolidate their position at the top in the latest Fifa rankings. La Albiceleste became the number-one ranked team following their world cup triumph in Qatar last year. The Copa America winners have incredibly lost only once in almost four years when their unbeaten run unexpectedly came to an end following a shock defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia in their opening group stage match in the World Cup.
Lionel Messi’s team have won 3 titles within the last two years, including the World Cup, ending a 36-year wait. Argentina’s opponents in the final, France are 2nd on the list, while five-time world champions, Brazil, are 3rd.
England, Belgium, Croatia, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, all feature in the top ten while Germany sits in the 15th place following a disappointing end to their world cup campaign.
