Indian Football Team
Uttiyo Sarkar
Igor Stimac was sacked as the head coach of the Indian football team soon after the recent 2-1 loss against Qatar in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers second round clash. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) decided to terminate his contract, resulting in a feisty war of words between the coach and the federation, with both accusing each other of letting down Indian football.
Despite his recent termination, Stimac was in the job for over five years and had one of the longest reigns for any Indian football team coach. The Blue Tigers also witnessed their position in the FIFA World Rankings seesaw during the period under Stimac’s leadership.
When Stimac took over the Indian football team in May 2019, the Blue Tigers were ranked in the 101st position and had around 1219 points. But, India would see their FIFA rankings impacted due to a shaky start under the Croatian, as they lost three of their first four games under him.
As a result, India fell two places to the 103rd position in the updated rankings in July 2019. Further bad results saw the Blue Tigers fall all the way down to the 108th position to end the year 2019. This was due to India failing to get a single win in the July-November period, suffering four losses and drawing four games in that period.
The year 2020 was a difficult one for Indian football. This was due to the COVID-19 pandemic altering the lives of millions of people in the country. Football as a whole suffered, with the Indian Super League (ISL) forced to take place behind closed doors. The national team didn’t even get to play a single competitive game due to the domestic schedule being messed up because of lockdowns.
India saw themselves hold onto the 108th position in the FIFA rankings for the majority of the year. But, then in November 2020, the Blue Tigers were able to climb to the 104th position and end the year in that place. This was despite them being stuck on 1187 points, as other international teams around them lost matches and dropped below them.
On 25 March 2021, India played their first competitive match in over 15 months under Stimac. They played two friendly matches against Oman and the UAE in the UAE in late March, drawing the game against Oman before suffering a horrible 6-0 loss to the hosts. This caused them to drop to 105th place in the FIFA rankings in April (2021) and see their points reduced to 1184.
India held onto that place before dropping down two places to 107 in September. This was even after they were on a four-game unbeaten streak heading into that period. But, India benefitted from ending 2021 by winning three matches en route to their SAFF Championship win. They ended the year in 104th place, going up three places.
The year 2022 started in underwhelming fashion for Stimac’s side. They played two challenging friendly matches against Bahrain and Belarus in March, suffering bad losses that saw them drop back down to 106th place in the March updated rankings.
But, these friendly matches (as well as the loss to Jordan in May) helped prepare India strongly for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers third round group in Kolkata. India picked up compelling wins over Cambodia, Afghanistan and Hong Kong to top their group and qualify for the Asian Cup. That positively reflected in their rankings, as Stimac’s side climbed back up to the 104th position.
India’s final two matches in 2022 were in the VFF Tri-Nations Series against Singapore and Vietnam. They drew one and suffered a 3-0 loss to Vietnam. As a result, they dropped back down to 106 in the FIFA rankings and ended the year in that position.
The year 2023 was the most prolific period for the Indian team under Stimac’s leadership. The Blue Tigers won their second championship at the Tri-Nation Series held in Imphal, defeating Myanmar and the Kyrgyz Republic. That had a positive effect on their place in the World Rankings.
India shot up to 101st place in the rankings in April 2023, their biggest rise under Stimac. The Blue Tigers also won the 2023 Intercontinental Cup held in Bhubaneswar, winning three of their four games, including the one against Lebanon in the final. That was followed up with the SAFF Championship win, where they defeated Kuwait in the final.
This saw India climb to the 99th position in the world rankings in July with 1209 points, breaking into the top 100 for the first time under Stimac. But, then started the drop. India lost at the 2023 King’s Cup matches to Iraq and Lebanon, which saw them drop three places down to the 102nd place.
India ended the year 2023 in 102nd place, after defeating Kuwait in their first 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier and losing to Qatar.
India had a underwhelming outing at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and this badly reflected on their place in the FIFA rankings too. Suffering damning losses to Uzbekistan, Australia and Syria, without scoring a goal, saw Igor Stimac’s team drop 15 places to the 117th position in the updated FIFA World Rankings in February 2024.
The draw and corresponding loss to Afghanistan in their two qualifiers saw India plummet down to 121st place in the April rankings. India would be held to a draw by Kuwait and then lose to Qatar in their final qualifiers in June, resulting in Stimac’s termination. The Stimac era ended with India in 121st place, but they have fallen to 124th place in the latest rankings released on 20 June 2024.
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