FIFA rankings: India drop 12 places, Argentina still on top

Stephen Constantine’s side, which take on Turkmenistan on October 8 and Oman on October 13, both away matches, are now at 30th spot in the continent, below the likes of Afghanistan, Myanmar and Guam. Even small South Pacific nation of Cook Islands, which has a population of less than 20,000, are placed one spot above India.

The FIFA logo outside FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. Despite hastily canceling a news conference scheduled with President Sepp Blatter after the surprise arrival of Swiss federal police at its headquarters, FIFA did make some decisions during its two-day executive committee meeting that ended Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Less than a week before their 2018 World Cup qualifiers match against Turkmenistan on October 8, the Indian national football team dropped 12 places to be at 167th in the latest FIFA rankings.

Stephen Constantine’s side, which take on Turkmenistan on October 8 and Oman on October 13, both away matches, are now at 30th spot in the continent, below the likes of Afghanistan, Myanmar and Guam. Even small South Pacific nation of Cook Islands, which has a population of less than 20,000, are placed one spot above India.

Today’s ranking is just four places above the historical low of 171st which India achieved in December last year. The slump in rankings came as no surprise after the team lost 0-3 to Iran in the World Cup qualifiers last month, extending the team’s winless run to five matches.

Among South Asian countries, Bhutan lost nine places to be at 173th spot while Pakistan are at 177th, Bangladesh 182nd and Nepal 190th.

Argentina continued to lead the men’s soccer world rankings, while Germany overtook Belgium to land at the second place. The gap, however, has been narrowed to just 18 points when Germany overtook Belgium to land at the second place with 1,401 points.

Other climbers in the top 10 include Portugal (fourth, up two) and Spain (sixthth, up five), while Colombia (fifth, down one) and Brazil (seventh, down two) have lost ground.

Spain’s re-entry after three months is down to two wins in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifiers, while Wales (eighth, up one) and Austria (11th, up two) have achieved their highest-ever rankings, with the latter having already qualified for next year’s tournament. The biggest movers in the top 50 are Norway (34th, up 35) and Cape Verde Islands (41st, up 15).