FIFA Rankings: India gain massive boost in 2026 WC qualification campaign, enter top 100 after stellar June

The Indian men's football team has been handed a major boost in their pursuit for a place in the 2026 World Cup qualification after FIFA released the latest rankings on Thursday, June 29. The team coached by Igor Stimac is now ranked 100th in the world while they have also improved significantly in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rankings which will have a massive impact on India’s place in the draw of the World Cup qualifiers. Led by Sunil Chhetri in the final, India won the Intercontinental Cup earlier in the month having got the better of Lebanon.

🇮🇳 move up to 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ in the latest FIFA Men’s World Ranking 👏🏽

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Massive boost for India

As per the latest standings, India’s win over Lebanon had huge consequences as they now are likely to occupy the second spot in the draws for the second round of FIFA qualifiers. India currently are 18th in the AFC rankings which will see them avoid all the teams from pot two. On the contrary, they will be the second-seeded side in the final groups of qualifiers.

India won five while drawing two matches in June which included the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championships. India could also better their rankings before the draw takes place later in July if they win the SAFF Championships.

Why is it a boost for India in qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

As things stand, the second round of qualification will see nine groups of four teams each with the top two teams making the third round. Since India will avoid all the pot number two teams and will have only one pot one team in their group, they will get a significantly favoured group in the second round. India will be expected to finish as group runners-up at minimum.

If this is the case, India will qualify for round three, which will see them get a step closer to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. While it will be a tall order, a top-two finish in the third round will see India qualify for the World Cup. While they could also make the playoffs in case they fail to seal direct qualification.

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Numbers game

The Blue Tigers gained 4.24 ranking points after five wins and two draws in June which has seen them boost their qualification campaign. India are currently 3.16 points in advantage of Lebanon after India beat them in the Intercontinental Cup final. The result had huge consequences on both India’s FIFA as well as AFC Rankings.

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