Indian football team is looking good and that could be the reason that it continues to rally upward in FIFA ranking. India has jumped to the best ranking in over a decade i.e. at 129th position. Overall, India has jumped to 42 places in less than two years. The team has still grown up whereas it hasn’t played a single game since September.
However, among the top notch teams Argentina tops the list with 1634 points and among the 47 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) countries, Iran lead the list with 816 points while India has occupied the 19th rank with 243 points. India was at the dismal 171st position when Stephen Constantine became the national coach. The team won nine of its last 11 games in 2016, including a victory against 114th ranked Puerto Rico.
The top 34 positions remain unchanged with Argentina, Brazil and Germany still holding first, second and third place respectively.
As Argentina retained their numero uno position in the FIFA ranking, their arch rival Brazil from South America grab the second position. Among the European teams defending World Cup champion Germany hold the no. 3 position while Belgium grab the fifth position. The fourth position is held by another South American team Chile.
What are the reactions to the India’s best FIFA ranking in over a decade?
Indian Coach Stephen Constantine
“I think we have had a really good couple of years during my time and while results have been mixed, we have achieved what we said we would,” said Constantine, “Our ranking is at its highest since 2005 which is obviously great for Indian football. There is, however, a very long way to go where I intend to take Indian football to, but I can say that we have begun our journey.”
“It’s been a total team effort. Unless Mr. Patel (All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel) and Mr. Das (AIFF general secretary Kushal Das) allowed me to do the things and the manner I wanted it to be done, this won’t have been possible ever,” Constantine added.
Veteran Indian Goalkeeper Subrata Paul
Subrata Paul congratulated team India. He said,”We have managed to climb 42 places in less than two years. I feel that’s a terrific achievement.” Adding to this, he said “There have been many positive developments in the National team with a whole lot of new players having made their international debut. Constantine has been successful in building the team for the future and we will only improve with every given day.” The team’s next target, Subrata said, is a sub-100 rank.
