England's Euro 2016 humiliation at the hands of Iceland, population 320,000, has left some in the UK media wondering if their Wembley Stadium homecoming will prove a bridge too far. 

Malta play England in a World Cup qualifier scheduled for October 8, and our 420,000-strong population had at least one media outlet noting the difference in size while jokingly warning "Oh no! Malta are coming". 

But while Malta's population might be bigger, FIFA's world rankings tell a different story.

Malta are currently ranked 166th out of 204 national teams. Iceland are 34th and likely to rise further once their fairytale run to the Euro 2016 quarterfinals has been factored in. 

But even if England's millionaire stars manage to eke out a victory against Malta, there might not be many people around to watch it. 

With anger at the national team still simmering, many England fans have called on fellow supporters to boycott Wembley as a sign of protest at the team's inept quarterfinal exit. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.