India rise in FIFA rankings

Zürich Jan 18 (IANS) Indian football rose three spots in the first FIFA rankings of 2018 which were released by the game s world governing body on Thursday.

India are currently at the 102nd spot just above Qatar. They are ranked 14th among Asian countries.

Coached by Englishman Stephen Constantine the Indian team accumulated 13 points over the past month for a total of 333 points.

India were unbeaten in 2017 winning seven of their nine matches. Two games had ended in draws. They had also qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The top 14 positions did not see any change with reigning World Champions Germany at pole position. Brazil Portugal Argentina and Belgium complete the top five.

Iran are the top-ranked team in Asian at the 34th spot. The former Asian champions have lost a couple of places from last month.

They are followed by Australia who have climbed a couple of rungs to the 36th spot while Japan rose one step to the 56th position.

--IANS
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