Fifa has confirmed that Thailand's friendly with India on June 4 will be a Fifa International 'A' or 'Tier 1' match with both sides earning world ranking points according to the result of the game.
The match with India will be a warm-up for the War Elephants ahead of their June 10 AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Turkmenistan.
Thailand are in Group D of the qualifying tournament for the 2027 finals in Saudi Arabia. The two other teams in the pool are Sri Lanka, whom the War Elephants have already beaten 1-0, and Taiwan.
The winners of the six groups will join the 18 countries who have already qualified for the finals.
The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) yesterday said that it had received a letter from Fifa, confirming the status of the friendly game with India.
According to Fifa rules, interna- tional friendly matches between national teams can contribute to the world ranking points, but they are usually weighted less than competitive matches like World Cup qualifiers, finals or other major competitions.
While friendlies are considered non-competitive, those deemed Grade A by Fifa do affect a team's ranking.
Moreover, referees for all Grade A matches are assigned by Fifa.
Thailand are currently ranked No.99 while India are in 127th place.
The venue and time for both matches will be announced later.
Thailand and India faced off in a 2019 AFC Asian Cup group stage match in which the War Elephants suffered a shock 4-1 defeat, leading to an immediate sacking of veteran Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac.
The Thais, under interim coach Sirisak Yodyathai, went on to reach the last 16 stage of the tournament where they lost 2-1 to China.