FIFA Ranking: India improve to World No. 100; Argentina remain on top

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India move to World No 100 from 101st spot as the national team won the Intercontinental Cup last week after defeating Lebanon. The Igor Stimac and side had a run of eight-match clean-sheet as they defeated Pakistan, and Nepal following the title win and were held by Kuwait in the last game at the SAFF Championship 2023.

Lebanon dropped to World No. 102 following the tournament in Bhubaneswar, making hosts India the highest-ranked team at the SAFF Championship. Both the nations have qualified for the semifinals, along with Kuwait (moved to 141st spot from 143) and Bangladesh, who remained at 192.

Meanwhile, Argentina (1st) are settling into their new role as world leaders. Nearly three months on from regaining top spot in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, La Albiceleste remain out front thanks to friendly wins over Australia and Indonesia. The top three is also unchanged, with the reigning world champions staying ahead of France (2nd) and Brazil (3rd).

There has been movement behind them. England (4th, plus 1) and Belgium (5th, minus 1) swap places, as do Croatia (6th, plus 1) and Netherlands (7th, minus 1). Newly crowned CONCACAF Nations League champions USA (11th, plus 2) close in on the Top 10, where Spain (10th) manage to remain thanks to their UEFA Nations League triumph.

There have been some major moves further down the Ranking. While Wales (35th, minus 9) and Côte d'Ivoire (51st, minus 6) dropped places, Ukraine (24th, plus 6), Scotland (30th, plus 6) and Armenia (90th, plus 7) all move in the opposite direction. Slovakia (46th, plus 5), Greece (49th, plus 3) and Mali (50th, plus 3) are back in the Top 50, while Mauritania (99th, plus 6) and India (100th, plus 1) both return to the Top 100.

The biggest climb of all has come outside the Top 100, courtesy of Kazakhstan (104th, plus 8). Other notable climbers are Togo (122nd, plus 7), Tanzania (123rd, plus 7) and Moldova (164th, plus 7), who have picked up 22.7 points, thanks in no small part to their shock 3-2 defeat of Poland in the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers, a match in which 148 places separated the two sides at kick-off.