Malta national football team

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. However, in late 1959, Malta played in the 1960 Summer Olympics African Qualifiers against Morocco and Tunisia, in which they finished last in the group with two draws and two losses. Since then, Malta has largely maintained the status as one of Europe's weakest teams, though its fortunes have increased since late 2010s.

The Maltese international side first competed in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA European Nations Cup in 1962, and in FIFA World Cup qualification in 1971.[5] 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.[3]

Malta's third competitive win came with a 1–0 victory away to Estonia in a 1993 World Cup qualifier in which Kris Laferla scored.[6] In October 1994 Malta held Czech Republic 0–0 in a qualifier for the UEFA Euro 1996, in which the latter ended runners-up. Six years later, in October 2000, in a group qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup, once again Malta managed another 0–0 draw vs Czech Republic which eventually cost the latter a place at the following major tournament. In June 2000, Malta played England, then managed by Kevin Keegan. Trailing 2–1 going into the final minutes, Malta were awarded a penalty, however David Carabott's effort was saved by Richard Wright.[7] Through November 2001 and May 2002, Malta played and remained undefeated in 6 international matches and in between they won the locally hosted (Rothmans) International Tournament. During 2005, Malta drew 1–1 against Croatia and Bulgaria. Another positive result was the 1–1 home draw in a friendly match against Northern Ireland, though George Mallia missed an injury time penalty which would have given them a win.[8] On 11 October 2006, Malta managed another competitive victory, a 2–1 triumph over Hungary in the European Championship qualifying with André Schembri scoring twice.[6]

On 7 February 2007, Malta drew 1–1 with one of the hosts of Euro 2008, Austria. The game was played to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first international match played by the Maltese national team.[9] On 8 September 2007, Malta managed another draw against Turkey in a Euro 2008 qualifying match, the game finishing 2–2.[10] On 26 March 2008, Malta achieved its largest ever victory, a 7–1 defeat of Liechtenstein in a friendly at the Ta' Qali Stadium, with Michael Mifsud scoring five goals.[11] A 2–0 friendly win over Georgia followed in 2009.[12]

In May 2010, sponsorship of the Maltese national side was taken on by sportswear firm Givova, who also designed a range of new kits for the team.[13] One month later, however, the side had fallen to their lowest ever FIFA world ranking position, of 169th in the world.[12] In 2009, Malta had a 0–0 draw with Albania at home. This was their only point for the 2010 World Cup qualifying. On 11 August 2010, Malta drew 1–1 at home against FYR Macedonia in a friendly game, with Michael Mifsud scoring a brilliant diving header for Malta.[14]

In February 2011, the national football team of Malta achieved a 0–0 draw against Switzerland, in which goalkeeper Justin Haber saved two penalties.[12] On 6 September 2011, Malta won their first Euro 2012 qualifying point, with a 1–1 draw against Georgia. During the years of 2010 and 2011, Malta did not get many positive results, and coach John Buttigieg and assistant coach Carmel Busittil were both sacked in October 2011.[15] For the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, Malta won their first World Cup qualifying match in 20 years, nabbing a 1–0 win over Armenia in June 2013.[16] In June 2017, Malta defeated Ukraine 1–0 in a friendly match, thanks to a lone goal by defender Zach Muscat.[17] Malta recorded their 7th all-time competitive win (and their first in the UEFA Nations League) on October 13, 2020, defeating Latvia 1–0 in Riga, scoring the winning goal in the 97th minute.

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2021

Malta  v  Russia

24 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Malta	1–3	Russia	Ta' Qali, Malta
	Mbong 56'	Report	Dzyuba 23' Fernandes 35' Sobolev 90'	Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Peter Kjaesgaard (Denmark)

Slovakia  v  Malta

27 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Slovakia	2–2	Malta	Trnava, Slovakia
	Strelec 49' Škriniar 53'	Report	Gambin 16' Satariano 20'	Stadium: Štadión Antona Malatinského Attendance: 0 Referee: Harald Lechner (Austria)

Croatia  v  Malta

30 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Croatia	3–0	Malta	Rijeka, Croatia
	Perišić 62' Modrić 76' (pen.) Brekalo 90'	Report		Stadium: Stadion Rujevica Attendance: 0 Referee: Lionel Tschudi (Switzerland)

Malta  v  Northern Ireland

30 May Friendly	Malta	0–3	Northern Ireland	Klagenfurt, Austria
		Report	Jones 2' Whyte 53' McCann 55'	Stadium: Wörthersee Stadion Attendance: 0 Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria)

Malta  v  Kosovo

4 June Friendly	Malta	1–2	Kosovo	Klagenfurt, Austria
	Dimech 45+2'	Report	Rashica 19', 84'	Stadium: Wörthersee Stadion Attendance: 0 Referee: Christopher Jäger (Austria)

Malta  v  Cyprus

1 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Malta	3–0	Cyprus	Ta' Qali, Malta
	Attard 44', 54' J. Mbong 46'	Report		Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 2,686 Referee: Fabio Maresca (Italy)

Slovenia  v  Malta

4 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Slovenia	1–0	Malta	Ljubljana, Slovenia
	Lovrić 45' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stožice Stadium Attendance: 4,571 Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)

Russia  v  Malta

7 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Russia	2–0	Malta	Moscow, Russia
	Smolov 10' Bakayev 84' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Otkritie Arena Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Ali Palabıyık (Turkey)

Malta  v  Slovenia

8 October 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Malta	0–4	Slovenia	Ta' Qali, Malta
		Report	Iličić 27', 60' Šporar 49' Šeško 67'	Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 3,967 Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

Cyprus  v  Malta

11 October 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Cyprus	2–2	Malta	Larnaca, Cyprus
	Papoulis 7' Sotiriou 80'	Report	Muscat 53' Degabriele 90+8'	Stadium: AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

Malta  v  Croatia

11 November 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Malta	1–7	Croatia	Ta' Qali, Malta
	Brozović 31' (o.g.)	Report	Perišić 6' Ćaleta-Car 22' Pašalić 39' Modrić 45+1' Majer 47', 64' Kramarić 53'	Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

Malta  v  Slovakia

14 November 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	Malta	0–6	Slovakia	Ta' Qali, Malta
		Report	Rusnák 6', 16' Duda 8', 69', 81' De Marco 72'	Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Fran Jović (Croatia)

2022

Malta  v  Azerbaijan

25 March Friendly	Malta	1–0	Azerbaijan	Ta' Qali, Malta
19:00 UTC+01:00	Degabriele 55'	Report		Stadium: National Stadium Referee: César Soto Grado (Spain)

Malta  v  Kuwait

29 March Friendly	Malta	2–0	Kuwait	Ta' Qali, Malta
19:00 UTC+02:00	Satariano 29' Teuma 33'	Report		Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Thomas Owen (Wales)

San Marino  v  Malta

5 June 2022–23 UEFA Nations League	San Marino	v	Malta	Serravalle, San Marino
		Report		Stadium: Stadio Olimpico de Serravalle

Malta  v  Estonia

9 June 2022–23 UEFA Nations League	Malta	v	Estonia	Ta' Qali, Malta
20:45		Report		Stadium: National Stadium

Malta  v  San Marino

12 June 2022–23 UEFA Nations League	Malta	v	San Marino	Ta' Qali, Malta
20:45		Report		Stadium: National Stadium

Estonia  v  Malta

23 September 2022–23 UEFA Nations League	Estonia	v	Malta	Tallinn, Estonia
20:45		Report		Stadium: Lilleküla Stadium

As of 19 August 2021[18]

Manager	Devis Mangia
Assistant Manager	Davide Mazzotta
Assistant Manager	Guillermo Giacomazzi
Goalkeeping Coach	Mario Capece
Physical Trainer	Luca Pagani
Sport Scientist	Francesco Zanasi
Match Analyst	Facundo Styk
Technical Coordinator	Alessandro Zinnari
Team Manager	Keith Fenech
Director of Communication	Pamela Schembri

Coaching history

As of 29 March 2022

Manager	Malta career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Joe A. Griffiths	1957–1961	6	2	2	2	033.3
Carm Borg	1961–1964	9	0	2	7	000.0
Janos Bedl	1966	2	2	0	0	100.0
Tony Formosa[lower-alpha 1]	1966	10	1	1	8	010.0
Joseph Attard	1969	1	0	0	1	000.0
Saviour Cuschieri	1970	1	0	1	0	000.0
Victor Scerri	1973	2	1	0	1	050.0
Terrenzio Polverini	1974–1976	9	1	2	6	011.1
John Calleja	1976–1978	11	2	1	8	018.2
Victor Scerri	1978–1983	26	3	3	20	011.5
Guentcho Dobrev	1984–1987	21	1	4	16	004.8
Horst Heese	1988–1991	36	3	8	25	008.3
Pippo Psaila	1991–1993	17	5	4	8	029.4
Pietro Ghedin	1993–1995	24	4	5	15	016.7
Robert Gatt	1996	3	0	1	2	000.0
Milorad Kosanović	1996–1997	15	0	2	13	000.0
Josif Ilić	1997–2001	41	5	4	32	012.2
Sigfried Held	2001–2003	21	4	5	12	019.0
Horst Heese[lower-alpha 2]	2003–2006	15	1	2	12	006.7
Dušan Fitzel[lower-alpha 2]	2006–2009	34	3	4	27	008.8
John Buttigieg[lower-alpha 2]	2009–2011	21	2	3	16	009.5
Robert Gatt[lower-alpha 3]	2012	1	1	0	0	100.0
Pietro Ghedin	2012–2017	48	7	6	35	014.6
Tom Saintfiet	2017–2018	3	0	0	3	000.0
Ray Farrugia	2018–2019	18	1	4	13	005.6
Devis Mangia	2019–	22	7	5	10	031.8

1. One match was managed with Janos Bedl
2. Assisted by Carmel Busuttil
3. Managed the team on a one-off basis as caretaker manager

As of 7 September 2021[20]

Players in bold are still active with Malta.

Most capped players

Michael Mifsud is Malta's most capped player and all-time top scorer.

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Michael Mifsud	143	42	2000–2020
2	David Carabott	122	12	1987–2005
3	Gilbert Agius	120	8	1993–2008
4	Carmel Busuttil	113	23	1982–2001
5	Andrei Agius	103	6	2006–2022
	Joe Brincat	103	6	1988–2004
7	Roderick Briffa	100	1	2003–2018
8	John Buttigieg	97	1	1984–2000
9	André Schembri	94	3	2006–2018
10	Brian Said	91	5	1996–2009

As of 25 March 2022[21][22]

  Positive record   Neutral record   Negative record

Opponent	Played	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	% Win
Albania	8	1	2	5	3	14	−11	012.50
Algeria	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	000.00
Andorra	4	1	3	0	5	3	+2	025.00
Angola	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Armenia	6	1	1	4	2	5	−3	016.67
Austria	9	0	1	8	5	29	−24	000.00
Azerbaijan	9	4	3	2	14	9	+5	044.44
Belarus	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	000.00
Belgium	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4	1	0	3	4	9	−5	025.00
Bulgaria	13	0	3	10	5	38	−33	000.00
Canada	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00
Cape Verde	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
Central African Republic	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Croatia	10	0	1	9	5	29	−24	000.00
Cyprus	8	2	3	3	9	10	−1	025.00
Czech Republic[lower-alpha 1]	12	0	3	9	5	34	−29	000.00
Denmark	9	0	0	9	4	32	−28	000.00
East Germany	6	0	0	6	2	22	−20	000.00
Egypt	2	0	0	2	2	8	−6	000.00
England	6	0	0	6	1	16	−15	000.00
Estonia	6	2	2	2	8	8	+0	033.33
Faroe Islands	10	2	2	6	14	19	−5	020.00
Finland	8	1	2	5	5	14	−9	012.50
France	2	0	0	2	0	10	−10	000.00
Gabon	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Georgia	9	1	2	6	5	12	−7	011.11
Germany[lower-alpha 2]	9	0	1	8	3	38	−35	000.00
Gibraltar	2	1	0	1	2	1	+1	050.00
Greece	10	1	2	7	5	22	−17	010.00
Hungary	12	1	2	9	6	28	−22	008.33
Iceland	15	3	1	11	10	33	−23	020.00
Indonesia	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Israel	8	0	2	6	6	16	−10	000.00
Italy	12	0	1	11	4	29	−25	000.00
Japan	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Jordan	3	2	0	1	5	4	+1	066.67
Kazakhstan	1	0	1	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Kosovo	3	0	0	3	2	10	−8	000.00
Latvia	7	3	1	3	5	8	−3	042.86
Lebanon	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	050.00
Libya	9	3	2	4	6	9	−3	033.33
Liechtenstein	5	4	1	0	14	3	+11	080.00
Lithuania	5	1	2	2	5	8	−3	020.00
Luxembourg	6	1	2	3	4	5	−1	016.67
Moldova	7	1	3	3	6	7	−1	014.29
Netherlands	6	0	0	6	0	28	−28	000.00
North Macedonia	6	0	1	5	2	15	−13	000.00
Northern Ireland	8	0	2	6	1	14	−13	000.00
Norway	12	0	2	10	4	30	−26	000.00
Poland	4	0	0	4	0	13	−13	000.00
Portugal	10	0	1	9	5	28	−23	000.00
Qatar	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Republic of Ireland	7	0	0	7	2	24	−22	000.00
Romania	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	000.00
Russia	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	000.00
San Marino	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	100.00
Scotland	7	0	1	6	5	18	−13	000.00
Serbia[lower-alpha 3]	4	0	0	4	1	18	−17	000.00
Slovakia	10	0	2	8	5	29	−24	000.00
Slovenia	8	0	1	7	1	15	−14	000.00
South Africa	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
South Korea	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Spain	8	0	0	8	3	37	−34	000.00
Sweden	13	0	0	13	2	49	−47	000.00
Switzerland	7	0	2	5	3	17	−14	000.00
Thailand	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Tunisia	11	5	3	3	10	11	−1	045.45
Turkey	6	0	1	5	4	15	−11	000.00
Ukraine	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
United Arab Emirates	2	0	2	0	1	1	+0	000.00
United States	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Wales	4	0	0	4	2	15	−13	000.00
Total	422	54	71	297	266	964	−698	012.80

As of 10 February 2022[23]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Malta national football team.

• Official site of the Malta Football Association
• RSSSF archive of results from 1957
• Reports for all matches of the Maltese national football team