India started the year ranked 102nd in the Fifa men’s rankings, up three places from their December 2017 spot.
Despite not having played a single match in the previous month, the Blue Tigers leapfrogged Qatar and are now ranked 14th in Asia. India now have 333 ranking points, two behind Oman in the 101st position.
The draw for the AFC Asian Cup to be held in UAE in 2019 will be held after the final round of the qualifiers and as of now, India would be placed in pot 3 with each pot accommodating six teams each.
Their next opponents in AFC Asian Cup qualification, the Kyryz Republic lie in the 116th position. Iran are still the highest ranked Asian nation, and are ranked 34th in the world, followed by Australia (36), Japan (56), South Korea (59) and Saudi Arabia (65).
At the top of the rankings and still in 1st position are Germany in the first position. The top 10 remained unchanged as Brazil and Portugal lie second and third respectively.