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The Indian football team has broken into the top 100 in the latest FIFA Rankings issued on Thursday, thanks to their dominant show in the ongoing SAFF Cup 2023 in Bengaluru.
Igor Stimac and Sunil Chhetri’s team is now ranked 100 after gaining 4.24 ranking points following their 5 wins and 2 draws in the seven games played since June – across the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championship.
India have been unbeaten at home in the last four years. Their last defeat in India came against Oman in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2019.
This is the first time in five years that the Blue Tigers are ranked inside the top 100.
India also climbed up the ladder in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rankings and now occupy the 18th position.
This is the fourth best FIFA ranking achieved by the Indian men’s football team in the history. Their best remains the 94th position they occupied in 1996, 99th in 1993 and 96th rank from 2017 to 2018.
Chhetri’s team will face Lebanon in the SAFF Cup 2023 semifinal on Friday, in what will be a repeat of the Intercontinental Cup final which India won last month.
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