India football team climb three spots to re-enter top-100 of FIFA world rankings

New Delhi: The Indian football team has re-entered the top-100 of the FIFA world rankings and is now placed at 99th at the latest chart released today. The team, which did not play any international match in this ranking period, jumped three places to enter the top-100 for the first time this year. It now has 339 points to its kitty to be at joint 99th spot with Libya. [caption id=“attachment_1718793” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File picture of Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri. AFPKic[/caption] Last year, the Indian team broke into the top-100 three times, rising as high as 96th in July — the second best ever after the 94th place attained in February 1996. But it ended the year at 105th spot. Among Asian countries, India is now at 13th spot, above the likes of Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain and North Korea. Iran (overall 33rd) leads the rankings among Asian countries, followed by Australia (37th) and Japan (55th). World Champions Germany remain on the top of the overall chart, followed by Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, France and Chile. The Indian team plays their AFC Asian Cup qualifier match against Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek on 27 March. The country has already qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.