Despite back-to-back defeats to Norway and Romania, Malta climbed two places in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and is now ranked 179th
Malta is 57th in Europe. Just ahead are Moldova (172, down 1) while lying behind Malta are Liechtenstein (182), Gibraltar (197, up 1) and San Marino (up 1).
Malta will be in action once again next month, hosting Sweden on October 12 and facing the Faroe Islands in Torshavn on October 15.
Photo: Copyright © domenic aquilina/MFA
Belgium remain top of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking after an action-packed number of weeks in international football which saw 78 friendlies, 74 continental qualifiers and 60 FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ qualifiers take place.
Though the teams in the top ten remain unchanged, there has been some movement. France (2nd, up 1) and Brazil (3rd, down 1) have traded places, while Spain (7th, up 2) are the top ten’s biggest movers.
The Cayman Islands (193rd, up 11), and Grenada (160th, up 13) are the joint-biggest climbers by points, reaping the rewards after their successful showing in the Concacaf Nations League. Other notable upwardly mobile nations include Jamaica (47th, up 5), Republic of Ireland (28th, up 4), Russia (42nd, up 4), Guatemala (133th, up 11), Suriname (142th, up 9), Montserrat (187th, up 9) and Djibouti (186, up 9). On the other hand, Kosovo (119, plus 1) have been rewarded for their valiant showing in UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying by reaching their best-ever position in the FIFA Ranking.