THE BLOG BY CPD FOOTBALL | The World of Indian football and beyond by Chris Punnakkattu Daniel

France top new FIFA World Ranking, India ranked 96th

The Indian national team celebrating its Hero Intercontinental Cup 2018 victory. (Photo courtesy: AIFF Media)

India have climbed one spot in the latest edition of the FIFA World Ranking. The Indian national team is now ranked 96th in the world and 14th in Asia with 1242 points.

2018 FIFA World Cup champions France (1726 points) are now ranked 1st in the FIFA World Ranking ahead of Belgium (1723), Brazil (1657), Croatia (1643) and Uruguay (1627).

Previous leaders Germany slipped down the table to be ranked 15th after a disappointing FIFA World Cup campaign.

This month’s ranking is the first edition of the global ladder since a new ranking formula took effect. The new formula, which was approved by the FIFA Council in June after a lengthy period of testing, relies on adding/subtracting points won or lost for a game to/from the previous point totals rather than averaging game points over a given time period as in the previous version of the ranking.

The changes, of which there are several, include the fact that inactive teams now preserve their point totals, with no devaluation of older games. Points are dropped, however, from losing or drawing against weaker opposition, with the only exception to this rule matches in knockout rounds of major competitions such as the FIFA World Cup.

Click here for more details about the formula used in the algorithm, weightings of matches and other characteristics.