Malta national football team
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| Nickname(s) | Knights of Malta, Ħomor (Reds), Falcons |
|---|---|
| Association | Malta Football Association |
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Head coach | Pietro Ghedin |
| Captain | Michael Mifsud |
| Most caps | Michael Mifsud (123) |
| Top scorer | Michael Mifsud (40) |
| Home stadium | Ta' Qali Stadium |
| FIFA code | MLT |
| FIFA ranking | |
| Current | 183  (12 January 2017)
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| Highest | 66 (September 1994, September 1995) |
| Lowest | 183 (December 2016–January 2017) |
| Elo ranking | |
| Current | 163 (December 2016) |
| Highest | 98 (February 1992) |
| Lowest | 164 (October 2001, November2016) |
| First international | |
 Malta 2–3 Austria  (Gżira, Malta; February 24, 1957) |
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| Biggest win | |
 Malta 7–1 Liechtenstein  (Ta' Qali, Malta; March 26, 2008) |
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| Biggest defeat | |
 Spain 12–1 Malta (Seville, Spain; December 21, 1983) |
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The Malta national football team (Maltese: Tim nazzjonali tal-futbol ta' Malta) represents Malta in international football and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game on 24 February 1957 against Austria, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory arrived in 1975 against Greece. Considered to be one of the weaker sides in Europe, Malta has never made it to the finals of any major international competition. They have however never ranked at the bottom of the FIFA World Rankings. Their highest ever position is 66th.
Malta played its first international game on 24 February 1957 at the Empire Stadium, losing 2–3 to Austria. That match was played in front of a capacity crowd at the old Empire Stadium. The Malta Football Association joined FIFA in 1959 and UEFA a year later. The international side first competed in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA European Nations Cup in 1962, and in FIFA World Cup qualification in 1971.
Malta's first competitive draw ended 1–1 against Greece in 1970. Malta's first two competitive wins were victories of 2–0 and 2–1 at home to Greece and Iceland in European Championship qualifiers in 1975 and 1982 respectively. In 1979, Malta drew 0–0 with West Germany in a European championship qualifier and they met again on 16 December 1984 for a memorable World Cup Qualifier in front of a record attendance at the Ta'Qali stadium, where the 1982 & eventual 1986 World Cup runners-up only managed a 2–3 win. Another prestigious result was achieved in March 1987 when Malta drew 2–2 in Portugal, in a qualifier for Euro'88 and the side also twice drew against Hungary during the qualification for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and recorded four friendly wins during 1991 and 1992.
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