Indian men's football team drops six places to 133rd in FIFA rankings, worst in nine years
New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI): The Indian men's football team slumped to its lowest ranking in nine years as it dropped six places to 133rd in the FIFA chart issued on Thursday, courtesy two losses in June.
India lost to Thailand (0-2) in an international friendly on June 4 before suffering a defeat to lower ranked Hong Kong (0-1) in an Asian Cup qualifying round match, leading to head coach Manolo Marquez's parting of ways with the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
The last time the Indian team had a worse ranking was in December 2016 when it was placed at 135. India's best ever ranking was 94 in February 1996.
The Indian team currently has 1113.22 rating points as against 1132.03 previously. It occupies the 24th place among 46 Asian countries led by Japan (17th rank).
Nothing has been going right for the Indian men's team. The loss against Hong Kong has put the side in a difficult position in its bid to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.
The team logged just one win from its last eight matches under Marquez's tutelage, the lone victory coming against Maldives in March.
This year, India have so far played four matches, out of which they have won one, drew another, and lost two. The poor results prompted the return of former skipper and iconic striker Sunil Chhetri to the squad but that has done little to improve the team's fortunes.
India's next scheduled international match is an away fixture against Singapore in the third round of Asian Cup qualifiers in October.
World champions Argentina leads the overall chart of 210 countries, followed by Spain, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Croatia.
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Xi, Trump reach series of new common understandings: China's foreign ministry
Beijing (PTI): Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump had an in-depth exchange of views on major issues concerning the two countries and the world, and reached a series of new common understandings, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.
Xi and Trump, who is on a three-day visit to China, met twice on Thursday and discussed a range of bilateral and global issues.
Trump is due to leave on Friday after a luncheon meeting with Xi.
Summing up the outcomes of Trump’s visit to Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the two presidents had an in-depth exchange of views on major issues concerning the two countries and the world and reached a series of new common understandings.
They agreed on a new vision of building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability to provide strategic guidance for bilateral relations over the next three years and beyond.
The two presidents also agreed to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-US relations, and bring more peace, prosperity and progress to the world, said a statement by the ministry’s spokesperson.
Trump visited China at the invitation of Xi.
The two presidents are meeting in person again for the first time since their Busan meeting last October, and it is the first visit to China by a US president in nine years, the statement said.
On Thursday, President Xi held a welcome ceremony and a banquet for Trump, held talks and visited the Temple of Heaven with him.
VIDEO | Beijing: On second day of bilateral talks, US President Donald Trump (@POTUS) thanks Chinese President Xi Jinping for 'incredible' China trip.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 15, 2026
Trump says, "Thank you very much. This has been an incredible visit. I think a lot of good has come of it. We've made some… pic.twitter.com/7A7lbEzLdC
