Sunil Chhetri’s India climb to top-100 of FIFA Rankings for first time in five years amid commendable SAFF showing

Currently in good form, India climbed to top-100 of FIFA Rankings for the first time in five years, rising from 101 to 100 on Thursday.

Since March 15 2018, this is the first time India have entered the top-100 bracket. They were ranked 99th five years ago.

Led by Sunil Chhetri, India are currently participating in the ongoing SAFF Championship, where they are set to face Lebanon in the semi-finals. The hosts began their campaign on a dominating note with a thumping 4-0 win vs Pakistan at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on July 21, followed by a 2-0 victory vs Nepal.

In their final Group A fixture, India drew 1-1 vs Kuwait, finishing second in their table with seven points from three matches, including two wins and a defeat.

India’s semi-final against Lebanon is scheduled for July 1 and will be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. Meanwhile, Kuwait face Bangladesh in the other semi-final. Chhetri has been in blistering form for India lately and is also currently the tournament’s highest goalscorer with five goals. India’s jump in the rankings, saw them overtake Lebanon and New Zealand.

Also, India are unbeaten in all nine matches played in 2023. AT home, the run stretches to almost four years, with their last defeat coming in Guwahati against Oman, in September 2019 in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

In their last match against Kuwait, Chhetri also scored his 92nd international goal. Speaking after the match, he revealed that Kuwait are not an easy side and was happy that India’s unbeaten run remained intact.

“To a large extent, we could do exactly what we had trained for. They are not an easy side. This team can play, and we could see that. But we matched their energy, and for most of the time, I think we did well. But the feeling that comes to our mind is that of a loss because we conceded at the last moment.

Clean sheet was one of our targets today, which went out of the window. All of us in the dressing room are a little bit disheartened about that. Now, it is the unbeaten run that we want to keep as long as possible”, he said.