Indian soccer continues to sink, Asian Cup elimination results in lowest FIFA rating in 9 years

Updated on: Oct 18, 2025 08:22 am IST

It has been a few years to neglect for the senior males’s Indian workforce, as they’ve didn’t win a aggressive fixture since November 2023.

The Indian males’s soccer workforce continues to be in a state of free fall by way of the FIFA rankings, as one other worldwide break with poor outcomes has led to the Blue Tigers slipping right down to 136th on this planet. This is the bottom India has been within the FIFA rankings since November 2016, as trigger for concern grows throughout the AIFF.

Sunil Chhetri leads the Indian workforce in a warmup earlier than their match towards Singapore.(HT_PRINT)

This low level within the rankings scale comes round after every week by which India’s hopes of reaching a 3rd consecutive AFC Asian Cup had been undone, overwhelmed by Singapore to be mathematically out of rivalry from qualifying into the principle draw for the 2027 event. Along with elimination from qualification for subsequent yr’s FIFA World Cup, India’s presence on the world stage of worldwide soccer grows blurrier and blurrier.

India had cracked the highest 100 of the FIFA world rankings in July 2023, but it surely has been a fully torrid run since then: the Blue Tigers final gained a aggressive soccer match in November 2023, which implies they’re winless exterior of pleasant competitors in practically 2 years.

India wrestle with uncertainty and exterior strain

This is a interval that has additionally seen a whole lot of upheaval inside Indian soccer, on each an administrative and training stage. The lack of certainty and solidness behind the scenes has contributed to India’s struggles: coach Igor Stimac was changed by Manolo Marquez, however the Spaniard was unable to proper the ship earlier than he too was proven the door.

Khalid Jamil is available in as the primary Indian coach for the workforce in over twenty years, and whereas he has proven indicators of enchancment in play, the outcomes proceed to go towards India. With loads of query marks and doubts surrounding home soccer in latest months as well, it has been a yr for India to neglect – however the objective will likely be to cease this slide down the rankings, after which meticulousloy construct their approach again up into a robust place.

It is best information for the ladies’s groups, the place the senior squad has gained 4 matches in a row to get a robust begin to the Women’s Asian Cup qualification marketing campaign, and cease their very own slide down the rankings. Meanwhile, the U-17 ladies’s workforce sealed qualification to the U-17 Asian Cup for the primary time in 20 years.

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