The advent of the Indian Super League in 2014 helped Constantine discover more talent. Stephen Constantine was brought back as the Indian football team head coach in January 2015 and it was not long before his pragmatic style started yielding results. With a new formula for FIFA Rankings coming into effect from 1999, which accounted for the level of opponents and score lines, the Indian football team lost much of the momentum it had built over the past few years.Įxcept for 2002 LG Cup victory in Vietnam, qualifying for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, and a FIFA World Cup qualifier win against Asian giants UAE in 2001, India had little to show in a 15-year period.ĭespite falling to 173 – the lowest in the Indian football team rankings history - in April 2015, there were some big changes already being implemented behind the scenes, which would bear fruit eventually. While the former netted seven goals in his 12 FIFA-sanctioned international games that year, Bhutia scored four in four with India playing an exciting brand of football. The year 1999, in particular, was very productive for Vijayan and Bhutia. India also won successive SAFF Championships (19) within the period. With Bhutia and Vijayan spearheading the India charge, the team shot up to the 94th place in the standings in February 1996, which, to date, remains the best Indian football team ranking on the FIFA leaderboard. The youngster marked his international debut in March 1995 and along with Vijayan, formed one India’s most telling forward line since the golden era in the 1950s and ‘60s. Starting in 1995, the number of international fixtures slowly started going up and the world rankings, too, saw incremental but sustained improvement throughout the period.Īnother factor playing its role in the upward trend was the introduction of Bhaichung Bhutia. To compare, India played a total of 18 FIFA-sanctioned matches in 1993 compared to a total of 12 in 19.ġ996-1999: Period of sustained improvement However, with considerably fewer international matches over the next couple of years, India did not have enough opportunities to build to defend its ranking and conceded 21 places to end 1995 at the 121st spot in the football rankings. Two draws against Cameroon and a stalemate against Finland in an international friendly only fast-tracked their entry into the top 100. That year, India also drew against Lebanon and won against Hong Kong in their 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. India enjoyed a remarkable 1993 calendar year, rising up the leaderboard sharply and broke into the top 100 by the end of the year on the back of a silver medal finish at the South Asian Games. IM Vijayan was at his peak in the early ‘90s. A cool-headed veteran in VP Sathyan, who managed the defence, was also a mentor to the younger generation of India players. With IM Vijayan approaching his peak and the likes of Jo Paul Ancheri and Bruno Coutinho breaking through, India were a very exciting attacking unit at that time. However, there was a lot to look forward to. When the first official FIFA Rankings were rolled out in December of 1992, India were ranked 143 in the world. Here’s an analysis of how the Indian football team’s rankings points plotted its course over the years. The Indian football team’s journey through the football rankings, since its inception in 1992, has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. It must be remembered that rankings play a big role in draws and seeding for major tournaments. While the official FIFA Rankings may not be an exact measure of the strength of a national team, it tells how a country plans its international programme and charts its course. Nevertheless, that is not to take away from the fantastic job both the management staff and players have done, as beating the USA, whether in their best moment of form or not, is never an easy task.In world football, rankings are an important indicator. While Panama’s result against the US and their performances in the Gold Cup in general have been superb, it will likely take a lot for them to make any significant movement in the table in the very short term, given the sheer amount of teams that are currently ahead of them in the ranking. Just behind them are Costa Rica (42nd) and Canada (45th), with Panama way behind. The nearest team from the North American continent is Mexico in 14th, who recently moved upwards in the table, overtaking 2014 World Champions Germany. The recent rise of the USMNT has not gone unnoticed within FIFA, as they are, as mentioned, the highest ranked within Concacaf, at 11th place in the world. Where are the Concacaf teams in the FIFA men’s ranking? Men's National Soccer Team JFIFA ranking: top 10 (+ USA) Ranking - June 2023
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