The Indian football team finished 2016 at the 135th position in the FIFA rankings, their highest in six years. India had reached the 142nd position on the table at the end of the 2010 season.
Coach Stephen Constantine attributed the upsurge to all his players and the staff.
"It can't be achieved without the help of the players. We have an exceptional batch of players as we are in the process of building the team for the future," Constantine told www.the-aiff.com.
But Constantine wasn't willing to go overboard with the new rankings.
"One of my priorities was to improve the National Team ranking when I took over. The results do state that we have improved but there's still a lot more to achieve," he added.
The draw for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 2017 will be held on January 23, with India playing their first match in the qualifiers on March 28.
--IANS
dm/tri/vt
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