Following back-to-back defeats to Finland and Poland in the first two matches from the European Qualifiers leading to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Malta fell one place in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and is now ranked 169th.

Malta is still fifth from bottom in Europe, lying ahead of Andorra (173, down 2), Gibraltar (196), Liechtenstein (205, down 1) and San Marino (210).

The team led by Emilio De Leo will host Lithuania, ranked 143rd, on June 7 and three days later, face Netherlands, currently ranked 6th, away from home.

Meanwhile Argentina (1st) remain top thanks to impressive wins away to Uruguay (1-0) and at home to Brazil (4-1), but the Albiceleste have new company, as Spain (2nd, up 1) took full advantage of France’s (3rd, down 1) slip-up in Croatia to secure second spot. Les Bleus nevertheless remain on the podium, with England (4th) looking on and Brazil (5th) completing the top 5.

The Netherlands (6th, up 1) are in close pursuit of the leading pack, having overtaken Portugal (7th, down 1). Belgium (8th), Italy (9th) and Germany (10th) have all preserved their top-10 berths, while Croatia (11th, up 2) and Morocco (12th, up 2) are breathing down their necks.