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The Indian men’s football team on Thursday achieved a sub-100 FIFA ranking for the first time since 2018 as it moved up one spot to 99th after its SAFF Championship triumph.
India had beaten strong teams Lebanon and Kuwait on penalty shoot-out in the semifinal and final respectively in the SAFF Championships in Bengaluru earlier this month.
Lebanon also gained two places just below India at the 100th spot while Kuwait moved up four places to be at 137th in the latest FIFA chart issued on Thursday.
West Asian countries Lebanon and Kuwait were invited to the SAFF Championships to ensure intense competition in the tournament.
India now have 1208.69 points.
India’s best FIFA ranking was 94th, attained in 1996. The country also reached the 99th spot in 1993 and 96th in 2017 and 2018. It was placed at 100th last month.
Overall, world champions Argentina remained at the top, followed by France, Brazil, England and Belgium.
In Asia, Japan led the chart at the 20th spot, followed by Iran (22), Australia (27), Korea (28) and Saudi Arabia (54) in the top five.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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