Bad to worse for Bangladesh

Bangladesh dropped two spots to 185 in the latest FIFA Rankings circulated yesterday. The demotion in the rankings is not unlikely for Bangladesh, who have been performing badly for quite some time. They drew against Bhutan in their last match, a crucial home tie in the AFC Asian Cup Playoff Qualifiers, after a 5-0 hammering by Maldives in an international friendly.

Interestingly, apart from Bangladesh, most of the South Asian countries have improved their positions. The most impressive among them are Maldives, who jumped nine spots up the ladder to 165.

India gained four spots and are now leading the South Asian pack with a position of 148, just one spot above Afghanistan. Nepal have moved up two spots, and so did Bhutan, who improved their position from 192 to 189.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka remain unchanged at 194th and 193rd respectively.