The Indian football team reaped a good harvest of its impressive Asian Cup qualification campaign as it gained two places to jump to 104th in the latest FIFA world rankings released on Thursday.
The Blue Tigers are placed just below New Zealand (103rd), who missed out on a 2022 FIFA World Cup spot after losing to Costa Rica 0-1 in the intercontinental play-off earlier this month.
India's ranking among Asian Football Confederation members, however, still remained static at 19th place. Iran retained the top spot among AFC countries at 23rd place.
The Sunil Chhetri-led side had their best ever Asian Cup qualification campaign earlier this month when they won all three of their league matches to top group D and secure a place in the 24-team Finals to be held in 2023.