Due to the coronavirus pandemic sporting world has come to a halt and there has been very little to no football action in recent months. And that is why there are hardly any changes in the most recent World Rankings released by FIFA on April 9, 2020 (Thursday). Team India were scheduled to play their first international match of 2020 in March but due to the current circumstances, they remain 108th in the rankings, which is the same since November 2019. FIFA Set New Guidelines on Transfer Windows and Player Contracts Amid Coronavirus Pandemic.

Before football all around the world came to a standstill, Indian national football team were scheduled to take part in the second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers. The ‘Men in Blue’ were to host Qatar on March 26, 2020, before taking on Bangladesh and Afghanistan in June. Out of those three teams, only Qatar (55th) are placed higher in the team rankings than India. FIFA Postpones U-17 Women's World Cup 2020 in India Due to COVID-19.

Igor Stimac’s men last played a game on November 20, 2019, where they suffered an agonizing 1-0m defeat against Oman and were knocked out of the 2022 FIFA WC qualifiers. But their ranking has not seen any change since the last two releases (December 2019 and February 2020).

Rankings of all the countries have remained the same despite South Sudan, who moved up one place to 168th and are now tied with Bermuda. The latter dropped a ranking point after a 2-0 defeat against Jamaica on March 11. Belgium continues to be in the top spot followed by France and Brazil.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 09, 2020 10:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).