The India football team won the hearts of millions when it lifted the SAFF Championship 2023 trophy, but can it ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup?
The Indian football team, led by captain Sunil Chhetri, won the hearts of millions of football fans across the country when they emerged victorious in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship 2023, playing the final match against Kuwait.
The win at the SAFF Championship final gave Indian football fans hope that one day, the Indian team will be able to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, the world’s biggest international football tournament, something which has not been possible yet.
Not only this, but fans have also been wondering if Sunil Chhetri’s team will churn out players who will be able to play in La Liga, which is one of the top league football tournaments, which includes players from all across the world.
The next FIFA World Cup will be in 2026, and here is all you need to know about the criteria needed to be fulfilled by Sunil Chhetri’s Indian football team to qualify for the tournament.
Can Indian football team qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026?
India is currently at the 100th spot in the FIFA Men’s rankings, and in the distant future, it is expected that India will climb up the spot and will be able to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. However, the chances of this happening in 2026 seem bleak.
India is currently in the top 20 of FIFA Men’s rankings of Asian teams, which means that they can skip the first round of Asian qualification for the World Cup 2026. However, they will have the participate in the second round of the qualifiers of Asian teams, which commence next year.
However, India has a better chance of winning these rounds if they are paired with teams of inferior rankings, which is only possible if the international rank is boosted above 99 or higher, and their Asian ranking in FIFA is above 18, which can be possible if the team keeps winning international matches this year.
Can Indian players feature in La Liga?
La Liga is one of the most popular football leagues in India but has not seen Indian players in the teams. Since La Liga has no specifications on nationalities, any Indian player can feature in the tournament provided they have signed a deal with the Spanish league teams.
Since India is not higher up on the FIFA rankings, no top international league team has signed a deal with Indian football players.
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 "Explained: Can India qualify for FIFA World Cup, La Liga? Criteria to be met by Sunil Chhetri's football team")
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