Malta was the best climber of October in the FIFA world rankings, published today.

Malta moved six places up to 180 after two wins and a draw in matches played earlier this month.

Qualifying games for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the play-offs for UEFA EURO 2021, and UEFA Nations League fixtures were among the 120 internationals played over the last month, resulting in significant movement in October’s edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.

While the podium remains the same, the gap has narrowed between top-ranked Belgium and their immediate pursuers, France and Brazil, following the Red Devils' loss to England (4th) in the UEFA Nations League – their first defeat since November 2018.

However, there are changes to the Top 10: Spain (6th, +1) and Argentina (8th, +1) swapped places with Uruguay (7th, -1) and Croatia (9th, -1) respectively.

Further down the classification, Denmark (13th, +3), Algeria (30th, +5), Paraguay (35th, + 5), Morocco (39th, +4), Scotland (45th, +4), and Hungary (47th, +5) all progressed, with the Magyars breaking into the Top 50 at the expense of Bosnia and Herzegovina (51, -1).

The biggest climber this month was Malta (180th, + 6), who jumped six places courtesy of victories over Gibraltar (195th, unchanged) and Latvia (142nd, -5) and a draw with Andorra (145th, -8). Also worthy of note is the progress of Ecuador (60th, +4), Panama (77th, +4) and Israel (88th, +5).