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The national team played their first match as an independent nation in 1948 in the first round of the 1948 Summer Olympics against France. At the Sydney match on 24 September, Indian striker Lumsden scored the first hat-trick for India against the Australian side which includes a penalty kick. But the Australians defeated India in the next two matches held at Sydney and Melbourne with a score line of 5–4 and 3–1 respectively. In the third match at Newcastle, on 17 September India registered their first win by a margin of 4–1. Second match was at Brisbane, where the Indians fought back for a draw of 4–4. After playing some matches against state and district teams, on 3 September at Sydney, India played the first friendly match against Australia and got defeated by 5–3 and the match is considered as India's first FIFA-recognised match. In the same year, India made a long official tour on invitation by Australian Football Association, from August to October where they played 17 matches against many states, districts, club teams and 5 friendly matches against the Australian national side too. India side that participated in the 1948 Summer Olympics match against FranceĪfter the success of several Indian football clubs abroad, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was formed in 1937. They have won the tournament eight times since it began in 1993 and by doing so became the most successful team in the region. India also participates in the SAFF Championship, the top regional football competition in South Asia. The team has also appeared four times in the AFC Asian Cup, Asia's top football championship and finished as runners-up in 1964.
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However, India withdrew prior to the beginning of the tournament. India has never participated in the FIFA World Cup, although they did qualify by default for the 1950 World Cup after all other nations in their qualification group withdrew. Thus, India became the first Asian nation to reach the semi-final of a FIFA organized major tournament. During this period, India won gold at the 19 Asian Games, while finishing fourth at the 1956 Summer Olympics. The team, which was once considered one of the best teams in Asia, had its golden era during the 1950s and early 1960s. The AIFF is one of the founding members of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) and the squad is also a part of the regional federation. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and governed in Asia by the AFC. The new version of the women’s ranking is expected to be announced on March 26, 2021.The India national football team represents India in international football and is controlled by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). still remain the highest ranked team in the world, followed by Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden in the top five of the rankings.īotswana, Comoros, Mauritius, Eswatini and Madagascar were rewarded with rises of 17 spots following their activities in 2020, with only 28 of 56 nations in Africa ending the year on the rankings. In Africa, Nigeria still ranks as the best on the continent, with Cameroun, South Africa, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire (61st), Tunisia (71st), Morocco (77th), Mali (78th), Algeria (79th) and Senegal (80th) occupying the top 10 spots. South Africa remain in the 53rd position in spite of winning a record fourth consecutive COSAFA Women’s Cup title last month after beating Botswana. Cameroun still occupies the 51st position despite losing the coveted Olympic Games ticket to Zambia on their away goal rule, following a 3-3 draw on aggregate in the final qualifying stage in March.