FIFA rankings: Indian football team drops four places to 121
New Delhi, Apr 4: The Indian football men's team dropped four places to 121 in the latest FIFA rankings, its worst in recent years, following an embarrassing 1-2 defeat against Afghanistan in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Guwahati last month.
The Igor Stimac-coached side, which had broken into the top-100 last year, having won the Intercontinental Cup, the Tri-Nations tournament and the SAFF Championship, on March 26 suffered a shocking defeat at home to lowly-ranked Afghanistan to continue its poor run of late.
Even though the team registered a win against Kuwait in the World Cup qualifiers, its first away win in over two decades, the forgettable outing at the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar, where the side lost all its matches without scoring a single goal, saw it plummet 15 spots to 117th after the continental tournament.
India ended their Asian Cup campaign in January pointless and goal-less after losing to Australia (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-3) and Syria (0-1). It finished at the bottom of the four-team Group B.
Last month, the Blue Tigers were held to a goalless draw by Afghanistan in their first leg second round World Cup qualifiers in Abha, Saudi Arabia, and then lost the home fixture, prompting outrage from fans and calls for sacking of Stimac.
India's worst ranking, though, is 173.
Before dropping 15 places to 117 in March, the Indian team was placed at 102nd in the FIFA rankings, issued on December 21, 2023.
Reigning world champions Argentina continue to top the chart followed by 2022 World Cup runners-up France, England, Belgium and Brazil.
Netherlands occupy the sixth place and they are followed by Portugal, Spain and Italy with Croatia completing the top 10.
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Rape accused's mother murdered by victim's brother in MP's Shivpuri
Shivpuri (PTI): The 60-year-old mother of a rape accused was killed allegedly by the victim's brother in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district, a police official said on Saturday.
The incident took place on Friday, Rannod police station house officer (SHO) Arvind Chauhan said.
"An anganwadi worker returning from a hospital was offered a lift by one Inder Gurjar, who took her to a secluded spot and raped her. She called up her brothers to narrate the ordeal. One brother of the victim along with two associates went to Gurjar's house and assaulted him. When Gurjar's mother Sirkunwarbai (60) intervened, she was attacked with a sharp weapon. She died on the spot," he said.
Based on a complaint filed by the deceased woman's daughter-in-law, three persons were booked for murder. One of them was held on Saturday, the official added.
A separate case has also been registered against Gurjar for rape, he said.
Police personnel have been deployed in the area in view of tension following the incident, the official added.
