India Drop To Lowest FIFA Rankings Since 2017 Under Coach Igor Stimac

India's decline to the worst FIFA rankings in seven years after the team's premature exit from the continental tournament in Doha last month.

The Indian national team players posing for a team photo before the AFC Asian Cup 2023 match between India and Uzbekistan at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on January 18, 2023.

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Igor Stimac’s Indian football team experienced a significant drop of 15 places, finding themselves at 117th in the FIFA rankings on February 15 (Thursday). It marked their lowest position in seven years. This decline comes on the heels of the team's disappointing performance in the AFC Asian Cup 2023, where they lost all three group matches. The current ranking is the team's worst since January 2017 when they were placed at the 129th spot. However, the lowest historical ranking was recorded at 173 in 2015.

In the previous FIFA rankings released on December 21, 2023, the Indian football team held the 102nd position. Following the recent update, India have now dropped to 117th place, losing 35.63 rating points in the process. The team currently sit between Togo (116th) and Guinea-Bissau (118th). In the Asian context, India are ranked 22nd among the nations in the region.

India's Poor Run At AFC Cup 2023

Under Igor Stimac's coaching, India concluded their Asian Cup 2023 campaign in January without securing any points and failing to score any goals. The team faced defeats against Australia (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-3), and Syria (0-1), ultimately finishing at the bottom of Group B, which consisted of four teams. What made their AFC Cup campaign look even worse was the fact that all the remaining teams from India's group advanced to the round of 16 in the tournament.

During this period, significant movements were observed in the rankings of countries in Asia and Africa, especially those participating in continental championships. However, there were no changes in the top 10, with Argentina maintaining its position as the world champion. The top five countries following Argentina are France, England, Belgium, and Brazil.

Asian Cup 2023 champions Qatar experienced a notable rise, climbing 21 places to the 37th position. Meanwhile, Japan, despite dropping one spot to 18th, continue to lead the continental rankings. Surprising Asian Cup runners-up Jordan witnessed a significant gain of 17 places, securing the 70th spot in the rankings.