What's the story?
The Indian national football team have been ranked 100th in the latest FIFA rankings released earlier today. The Blue Tigers, therefore, have stayed put inside the top 100 despite not playing a single friendly or competitive fixture in the month of May.
The biggest movers were New Zealand, who jumped 17 places to leapfrog India into 95th place. St Kitts and Nevis, who were ranked 98th in May, also jumped nine places after collecting 127 points in May. Brazil, Argentina and Germany occupy the top three places in the latest FIFA rankings.
The context
Despite May being their second consecutive month without action, Stephen Constantine's men have hung on to their top 100 standing. The Blue Tigers have so far won both their matches this year – two away wins against Cambodia and Myanmar – as a busy month of June awaits.
Under Constantine's watch, India have climbed from being 173rd in March 2015 to now being inside the top 100.
The heart of the matter
India's static ranking for the month of June will stand to change when July's rankings are rolled out, considering the Blue Tigers have two matches in the month of June.
With 331 points, India are level with Nicaragua and Kazakhstan in the 100th spot. The Blue Tigers’ opponents for their matches in June – Nepal and the Kyrgyz Republic – are ranked 169th and 132nd respectively.
What's next?
India take on Nepal on 6th June in a friendly in Mumbai before squaring off to the Kyrgyz Republic on 13th June in Bengaluru. Keeping in mind their lowly FIFA rankings, the Blue Tigers will not stand to gain much in terms of points should they win both matches. However, results are more important than rankings at this stage for Constantine and his team, since the Kyrgyz Republic game is a qualifier for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Author's take
It was expected that India would jump up to 99th in June's FIFA rankings, but New Zealand's surge and St Kitts and Nevis’ 127-point haul meant the Blue Tigers will maintain their 100th rank until July comes round. The next release date for the FIFA rankings is 6th July, and given India's two matches this month, expect some movement in the leaderboard from Constantine's men. To make matters worse, New Zealand will also participate in the FIFA Confederations Cup this month, hence a win in the tournament for the Whites will see them earn more points than most nations, suggesting that India could slip out of the top 100 come July.
