India have won the Intercontinental Cup 2023 beating Lebanon 2-0 at the Kalinga Stadium at Bhuvaneswar on June 18, Sunday. This is the second competition they have emerged as winners in a row after winning the Tri-Nation Series. They are currently preparing for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup 2023 and ahead of that they will play more tournaments to get themselves ready. The latest assignment is going to be the SAFF Championships starting from June 21 and then they will travel to Thailand to play the King's Cup alongside Iraq, Lebanon and hosts Thailand. India are drafted in Group B of the AFC Asian Cup alongside heavyweight opposition like Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria. It is a difficult group but currently coach Igor Stimac is focusing on the players being able to express their football freely without any fear of failure to have a chance of qualifying from the group. Meanwhile, to know the scenario in which Indian football team can be drafted into Pot 2 of the FIFA World Cup 2024 Qualifier, you will get the entire information here.

How Indian Football Team Can Be Drafted into Pot 2 of FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers? Check Scenarios

After the AFC Asian Cup 2023, India will be playing for qualification in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Ahead of the draw, they want to push their FIFA ranking as much as possible to get a better draw in the group with more teams with rankings lower then them. Getting drawn from Pot 2 will help them to face only one side that is significantly higher in quality. To get into Pot 2, India have to end with a FIFA Ranking of 99 or higher at the end of the International break. Overall, they have to end with the AFC ranking 18.

India started the International break on the ranking of 101 but after winning the Intercontinental Cup 2023, they stand on FIFA Ranking 98 and are ahead of Lebanon. Next they will face some top opponents like Kuwait and Lebanon again in the SAFF Championship. If they can hold on to the ranking, they will get drafted in the Pot 2 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. India will not be looking to step away from their momentum and look to win the upcoming SAFF Championship 2023.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 19, 2023 07:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).