India gains 4 places in FIFA rankings after defeating Puerto Rico

The Indian football team jumped four places to be at 148th spot in the latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday, on the back of an impressive 4-1 win over higher-ranked Puerto Rico last week.

India had beaten Puerto Rico 4-1 in an international friendly in Mumbai on September 3. India thus returned to top-150 for the first time since April 2015, when they were ranked 147th.

There has been a steady rise in India's rankings in recent months. After rising to 11 places to 152nd in July following a 7-1 aggregate win over Laos in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying play-off, India retained their position among the 209 nations in August's rankings. India earned 219 ranking points by beating 114th placed Puerto Rico (now ranked 138th) 4-1 in a historic international friendly played at the Mumbai Football Arena.

India is now 26th among Asian Football Confederation countries, with Iran at the top at 37th, followed by Australia at 45th and Korea Republic at 47th. Argentina continue to top the overall list, followed by Belgium, Germany, Colombia and Brazil.