After what seemed to be an eternity in hibernation, Indian football finally seems to be rising from its slumber as it progressively moves up the FIFA World Rankings. The Men in Blue jumped 31 spots to a ranking of 101 after their friendly win over Cambodia last month.
The 101st world ranking is country’s best in seventeen years and comes on the back of a footballing revolution taking place in the country.
On the FIFA series, the Indian team have had the dubious honour of being one of the worst international teams since their introduction in FIFA 13. This, however, is bound to change with a whole host of talented youngsters cementing their place in the team and established stars like Sunil Chhetri taking their game to higher levels.
The Indian skipper is tipped by sources at EA to become the first Indian player to rise above a rating of 70 on the game and will continue to be the highest rated Indian player in FIFA 18. With whole host of talented young players being blooded into the national team, the team’s ratings are only bound to rise on FIFA.
We list those youngsters who are the country’s best hopes and will be highly rated on the next instalment of the FIFA series.
#1 Udanta Singh (64)
The 19-year old Bengaluru FC winger was a part of the Indian U-19 setup from the tender age of 16 before being selected for the senior team in 2017. The Manipur striker made his debut for the national team in a World Cup qualifying match against Iran earlier last year and has cemented a place for himself in the lineup since.
Udanta Singh is known for his speed and trickery and posseses extreme technical quality which was evident in his beautiful volley against Shillong Lajong in the I-League earlier this season. Recognising his potential, EA had given him a rating of 61 in FIFA 17 but more importantly, gave him a potential rating of 74 which shows just how higly the youngster is rated in footballing circles.
With Udanta’s performances getting better season by season, his stock with EA is only bound to rise. There will be an upgrade on his ratings in FIFA 17 and we predict an overall of 64 with a potential rating of 77 that will make him one of the Blue Tigers’ better players.
#2 Sumeet Passi (63)
1995 born Sumeet Passi made his professional debut as a substitute for erstwhile I-League club Pailan Arrows in a 2-1 loss to East Bengal. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength and made his international debut against Laos in 2016. He also scored in his second game for the national team against the same opponents in the away leg of the fixture.
The striker currently plays for Sporting Club de Goa in the I-League and Northeast United in the ISL. In FIFA 17, the youngster was given a relatively low rating of 52 but a potential of 61 which puts him in and around the general level of ratings of the Indian players.
FIFA 18 is scheduled to release in September, by which time the new footballing season will have started. EA will have the luxury to assess his goals and performances for club and country by the time the next instalment is released and if Passi continues this level of football, he will surely be rated above a 60 level.
#3 Daniel Lalhlimpuia (64)
Another 19 year old Bengaluru FC forward on the list, Daniel Lalhlimpuia is a graduate of the elite AIFF Academy who’s sole job it is to produce elite level footballers for the national team. Daniel has also represented the country at U-16 level and also captained the U-19 team at the SAFF U-19 Championship.
He was also part of the under 19 squad which played in the U-19 AFC Championship last year.
Lalhlimpuia made his debut for the national team as a substitute for skipper Sunil Chhetri, which was fitting in the sense that he is expected to fill the captain’s shoes after he matures into a national level striker.
On FIFA 17, the youngster was rated at an overall of 54 with his highest attribute being his nerveless finishing. Importantly, Lalhlimpuia’s potential was rated at 67, which is a rating equivalent to that of his national team captain.
If Daniel Lalhlimpuia’s potential is anything to go by, he will turn out to be atleast as good as Sunil Chhetri if not better. With the Mizoram born striker’s performances getting better with each match, we expect his rating in FIFA 18 to rise to 64.
#4 Jerry Lalrinzuala (63)
Yet another Mizo born AIFF Elite Academy graduate, Jerry Lalrinzuala made his India debut when he was called up for the Blue Tigers’ AFC Cup qualifier against Myanmar in February earlier this year. He was also one of five Indian footballers sponsored by Chennaiyin FC to visit French club FC Metz on a training stint early last year.
Jerry was signed by Chennaiyin FC after impressing in trials held during the I-League preseason. The Mizoram born full-back was part of India’s footballing wilderness when FIFA 17 was released and did not feature on the game.
The narrative is expected to change for him with the release of FIFA 18, where we expect him to be rated at an overall of atleast 63 after impressive performances for ISL club Chennaiyin FC.
Also Read: ISL 2016: A debut season to remember for Jerry Lalrinzuala
#5 Ishan Pandita (64)
Ishan Pandita is a pathbreaking Indian footballer. He has not represented any I-League club and has lived most of his life outside the country. Training with foreign coaches and better facilities, he made history by becoming the first Indian to represent a La Liga club when he signed for Spanish side CD Leganes.
In FIFA 17, the 18-year old youngster is given an overall rating of 59 which does not look special at first glance. What sets the youngster apart is his potential, which rated at 71 makes it possible for him to become the highest rated Indian footballer ever on the FIFA platform.
With Pandita harbouring ambitions to one day play for the national team, the future of Indian football looks to be heading in the right direction. We expect Indian football’s hyped “next big thing” to receive a significant boost to his FIFA 17 rating with an overall of 64 in FIFA 18.
Also Read: 5 things to know about Ishan Pandita
