Malta climbs six places in FIFA football rankings

Malta has climbed six places to 171st in the FIFA football rankings, the latest world national team score board shows.

Led by coach Devis Mangia, Malta's latest run in the World Cup qualifiers has been impressive. Only this month, Malta registered a home win over Cyprus (3-1), and two defeats against Slovenia (0-1) and Russia (0-2), with the team displaying good football.

The new rankings follow 152 FIFA World Cup qualifying games and 25 friendlies across the globe.

Malta sits fifth in Group H of the World Cup 2022 European Qualifiers with four points.

The only country which registered more progress than Malta is Libya, which climbed 12 places to 110.

Belgium still holds the top spot, followed by Brazil. Euro 2020 finalists England are ranked third best in the world, swapping positions with France.

Euro 2020 winners Italy sit in 5th place.

During the next international break, Malta will play against Slovenia at Ta' Qali Stadium on 8 October at 8:45pm. The next match will be against Cyprus away on 11 October at 6pm.