Following the 1-1 draw in Lithuania in the European Qualifiers and the 3-1 win over San Marino in a friendly match earlier this month, Malta climbed two places in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and is now ranked 166th.
Malta is still fifth from bottom among other UEFA nations, lying just behind Lithuania (145, down 2) and Moldova (156, down 2) and ahead of Andorra (174), Gibraltar (200, down 1), Liechtenstein (204) and San Marino (210).
Malta’s next commitment is against the Netherlands, who are currently ranked seventh, followed by a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, currently ranked 73rd.
Meanwhile the highest-profile change comes right at the top, with UEFA EURO 2024 winners Spain rising one place to 1st, a mark they have not occupied in the men’s game since back in June 2014. In the process, they have dethroned long-standing leaders Argentina (3rd, down 2), who had occupied the position since April 2023.
Joining high-flying Spain in surpassing the current world champions are the team Argentina beat in the FIFA World Cup 2022™ final, France (2nd, up 1). Slightly further down, Portugal, Croatia and Italy have all edged up one spot, into 5th, 9th and 10th position, respectively, making the most of the setbacks suffered by Brazil (6th, down 1) and Germany (12th, down 3).