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As per the newly published FIFA World rankings on 19 September 2024, the Indian Men's football team have further slipped to 126th position, a new low for the Blue Tigers.
After Sunil Chhetri's retirement and the contract termination of Igor Stimac, India headed to the 2024 Intercontinental Cup with newly appointed head coach Manolo Marquez in the charge.
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The Blue Tigers failed to score a single goal in the whole tournament. Indian team ended their first match against Mauritius in a 0-0 draw and lost their second match to Syria by 0-3. This poor performance has led the Indian team to drop again in the FIFA Rankings. They have dropped their rankings five times in a row this year!
India slips to 126th in latest FIFA rankings.#IndianFootball #FIFA pic.twitter.com/mx5FqjaBYN
— IFTWC - Indian Football (@IFTWC) September 19, 2024
Previous Rankings
As per the rankings on 18th July 2024, India were at 124th position, following their draw against Kuwait and a defeat against Qatar in the second round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. Though India had reached a high of 99 in 2023, they fnished the year at 102 position and kept on slipping as we headed into the new year.
What's next?
Indian Super League was considered to be a significant indicator of the overall progress of Indian football. Paving the way with 10 years of the ISL's existence, we have hardly seen Indian Football achieving anything remarkable in the premise of World Football.
Read Also | 10 Biggest Football Stars Who Have Played in ISL
ISL gave many young Indian talents to showcase their capability and gave them opportunities to represent The Blue Tigers but as a team, India has consistently failed to perform on big stages. Thus it leaves a question of what will come next for Indian Football.
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As of now, Manolo Marquez has a huge job to do to come back stronger after his poor start as the coach of the Indian team. Indian Football Team will eye on their upcoming friendlies against Vietnam and Lebanon respectively on the 9th and 12th of October, 2024.