Bhubaneswar : The India men’s football team has dropped to 133rd in the latest FIFA rankings released in July 2025, marking its lowest position in nine years. This significant drop—six places from the previous ranking—follows back-to-back defeats in June: a 0-2 loss to Thailand in a friendly and a 0-1 defeat to lower-ranked Hong Kong in an Asian Cup qualifying match.
The last time India was ranked lower was in December 2016, when it stood at 135th. The team’s all-time lowest ranking remains 173, recorded in 2015. India’s best-ever FIFA ranking was 94 in February 1996.
Recent poor performances have also led to the departure of head coach Manolo Marquez, and the team currently sits 24th among 46 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) nations, with Japan leading the continent at 17th globally. The losses have jeopardized India’s chances of qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup, as the team is now at the bottom of its qualifying group.
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