Malta national football team

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The Malta national football team (Template:Langx) represents Malta in men's international football and is controlled by the Malta Football Association, the governing body for football in Malta.

The first official game played by Malta was a 3–2 defeat in a friendly against Austria in 1957.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Their competitive debut arrived five years later, playing against Denmark in the preliminary round of the 1964 European Nations' Cup.<ref name="all-time-results">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Malta have competed in every qualifier for the European Championship since 1964 (except 1968) and FIFA World Cup since 1974, but have never made it to the finals of any major international competition.

History

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. 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 remained 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="all-time-results" />

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.<ref name=Independent>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=Independent />

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 8 September 2007, Malta managed another draw against Turkey in a Euro 2008 qualifying match, the game finishing 2–2.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A 2–0 friendly win over Georgia followed in 2009.<ref name=FIFA />

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.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> One month later, however, the side had fallen to their lowest ever FIFA world ranking position, of 169th in the world.<ref name=FIFA>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In February 2011, the national football team of Malta achieved a 0–0 draw against Switzerland, in which goalkeeper Justin Haber saved two penalties.<ref name="FIFA" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0" /> In June 2017, Malta defeated Ukraine 1–0 in a friendly match, thanks to a lone goal by defender Zach Muscat.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Malta recorded their 7th all-time competitive win (and their first in the UEFA Nations League) on 13 October 2020, defeating Latvia 1–0 in Riga, scoring the winning goal in the 97th minute.

Malta went on to deliver several good performances in the times that followed. On 14 November 2020 in the UEFA Nations League, Malta earned a 3–1 home victory against Faroe Islands, thanks in part to a great goal from Jurgen Degabriele, showcasing early signs of momentum in the 2020–21 campaign. In 2021, Malta recorded a standout result in FIFA World Cup qualifying with a comfortable 3–0 home win over Cyprus on 1 September 2021, featuring two goals from Cain Attard, a rare competitive triumph that boosted morale in a challenging Group H campaign. The 2022 calendar year proved to be Malta's most successful in recent times: across ten matches they achieved 5 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses, scoring 12 goals and conceding 9, marking an uptick in form. On 5 June 2022, they opened the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League with a 2–0 away win over San Marino, with Matthew Guillaumier scoring Malta’s opener in Serravalle and setting a confident tone for the campaign. In September 2022, Malta delivered perhaps their most celebrated recent result: a 2–1 friendly victory over Israel at Ta’ Qali National Stadium, with goals by Alexander Satariano (84') and Ferdinando Apap (87'), overturning Israel’s early penalty to secure the win against a traditionally stronger side.

In more recent years, Malta did achieve a handful of positive results. In June 2023 (UEFA Nations League 2022–23, Group D2), Malta earned a 2–0 away win over San Marino on 5 June, followed by a 1–0 home victory against San Marino on 12 June, anchoring a strong run in their Group D2 campaign and finishing second overall in the group. In September 2024, during the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League, Malta beat Moldova 2–0 away on 7 September and then overcame Andorra 1–0 away on 10 September, with the goal against Andorra scored by Ryan Camenzuli in the 44th minute. Although positive results have been harder to come by for Malta during 2024 and 2025, they did get another competitive win, securing a 1–0 home win against Moldova on 13 October 2024, courtesy of an 87th‑minute penalty from Teuma, again in UEFA Nations League Group D2. Moving into 2025 World Cup qualifying, Malta registered a 0–0 draw at home against Lithuania on 7 June 2025, showing resilience at Ta’ Qali despite admittedly tougher opposition.

Kits

Kit provider	Period
Template:Flagicon Adidas	1978–1988
Template:Flagicon Umbro	1988–1990
Template:Flagicon Lotto	1990–1999
Template:Flagicon Kronos	1999–2001
Template:Flagicon Erreà	2001–2005
Template:Flagicon Diadora	2005–2009
Template:Flagicon Givova	2009–2022
Template:Flagicon Erreà	2022–

Results and fixtures

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Coaching staff

Head coach	Template:Flagicon Emilio De Leo
Assistant coach	Template:Flagicon Mirko Valdifiori
Goalkeeping coach	Template:Flagicon Mario Capece
Technical coordinator	Template:Flagicon Ivan Woods
Fitness coaches	Template:Flagicon Luca Pagani
	Template:Flagicon Francesco Zanasi
Match analyst	Template:Flagicon Facundo Styk
Team manager	Template:Flagicon Keith Fenech

Coaching history

Manager	Malta career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1954–1961
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1961–1964
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1966
Template:Flagicon Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn	1966
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1969
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1970
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1973
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1974–1976
Template:Flagicon JohnTemplate:Sortname	1976–1978
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1978–1983
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1984–1987
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1988–1991
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1991–1993
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1993–1995
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1996
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1996–1997
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	1997–2001
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2001–2003
Template:Flagicon Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn	2003–2006
Template:Flagicon Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn	2006–2009
Template:Flagicon Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn	2009–2011
Template:Flagicon Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn	2012
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2012–2017
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2017–2018
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2018–2019
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2019–2022
Template:Flagicon Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn	2022
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2023–2024
Template:Flagicon Template:SortnameTemplate:Efn	2024
Template:Flagicon Template:Sortname	2025–

Players

Current squad

• The following players were called-up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification games against Finland and Poland on 14 and 17 November.<ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2025, after the match against Poland.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months.

Template:Nat fs r start Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break ^INJ Player is injured
^COV Withdrew due to covid
^PRE Preliminary squad / standby
^RET Retired from the national team
^SUS Serving suspension
^WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. Template:Nat fs end

Player records

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

Template:Updated<ref name="rsssf malta player rcords">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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	11	1987–2005
3	Gilbert Agius	120	8	1993–2009
4	Carmel Busuttil	113	23	1982–2001
5	Andrei Agius	103	6	2006–2022
	Joe Brincat	103	6	1987–2004
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

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Average	Career
1	Michael Mifsud	42	143	{{#expr: 42/143 round 2}}	2000–2020
2	Carmel Busuttil	23	113	{{#expr: 23/111 round 2}}	1982–2001
3	David Carabott	11	122	{{#expr: 11/122 round 2}}	1987–2005
4	Hubert Suda	8	71	{{#expr: 8/71 round 2}}	1988–2001
	Gilbert Agius	8	120	{{#expr: 8/120 round 2}}	1993–2009
6	Jurgen Degabriele	7	30	{{#expr: 7/28 round 2}}	2018–present
7	Raymond Xuereb	6	45	{{#expr: 6/45 round 2}}	1971–1985
	Kristian Laferla	6	65	{{#expr: 6/65 round 2}}	1986–1998
	Andrei Agius	6	103	{{#expr: 6/103 round 2}}	2006–2022
	Joe Brincat	6	103	{{#expr: 6/103 round 2}}	1987–2004

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip		Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Template:Flagicon 1930 to Template:Flagicon 1958	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
Template:Flagicon 1962 to Template:Flagicon 1970	Did not enter									Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1974	Did not qualify									6	0	0	6	1	20
Template:Flagicon 1978										6	0	0	6	0	27
Template:Flagicon 1982										4	0	0	4	2	15
Template:Flagicon 1986										8	0	1	7	6	25
Template:Flagicon 1990										8	0	2	6	3	18
Template:Flagicon 1994										10	1	1	8	3	23
Template:Flagicon 1998										10	0	0	10	2	37
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2002										10	0	1	9	4	24
Template:Flagicon 2006										10	0	3	7	4	32
Template:Flagicon 2010										10	0	1	9	0	26
Template:Flagicon 2014										10	1	0	9	5	28
Template:Flagicon 2018										10	0	1	9	3	25
Template:Flagicon 2022										10	1	2	7	9	30
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2026										8	1	2	5	4	19
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2030	To be determined									To be determined
Template:Flagicon 2034
Total		Template:Tooltip								119	4	14	102	46	349

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record										Qualifying record
Year	Round	Position	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip		Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Template:Flagicon 1960	Not a UEFA member									Not a UEFA member
Template:Flagicon 1964	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	2	9
Template:Flagicon 1968	Did not enter									Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1972	Did not qualify									6	0	1	5	2	16
Template:Flagicon 1976										6	1	0	5	2	20
Template:Flagicon 1980										6	0	1	5	2	21
Template:Flagicon 1984										8	1	0	7	5	37
Template:Flagicon 1988										8	0	2	6	4	21
Template:Flagicon 1992										8	0	2	6	2	23
Template:Flagicon 1996										10	0	2	8	2	22
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2000										8	0	0	8	6	27
Template:Flagicon 2004										8	0	1	7	5	24
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2008										12	1	2	9	10	31
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2012										10	0	1	9	4	21
Template:Flagicon 2016										10	0	2	8	3	16
Template:Flagicon 2020										10	1	0	9	3	27
Template:Flagicon 2024										8	0	0	8	2	20
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2028	To be determined									To be determined
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2032
Total		0/16								120	4	14	102	54	335

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season	Division	Group	Round	Position	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
2018–19	D	3	Group stage	4th	6	0	3	3	5	14	Template:Same position	54th
2020–21	D	1	Group stage	2nd	6	2	3	1	8	6	Template:Same position	52nd
2022–23	D	2	Group stage	2nd	4	2	0	2	5	4	Template:Same position	52nd
2024–25	D	2	Group stage	2nd	4	2	1	1	2	2	TBD	TBD
Total			Group stage	TBD	20	6	7	7	20	26	TBD

Other records

Year	Round	Position	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Template:Flagicon 7th November Cup 1993	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	2	4
Template:Flagicon Football at the 1963 Mediterranean Games	9th	9th	4	0	0	4	4	18

Head-to-head record

Opponent	Confederation	Played	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	% Win
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	CAF
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	CAF
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	CONCACAF
Template:Fb	CAF
Template:Fb	CAF
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:FbTemplate:Efn	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Flagdeco Denmark XI	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	CAF
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Flagdeco England B	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	CAF
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:FbTemplate:Efn	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	AFC
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Flagdeco Italy C	UEFA
Template:Fb	AFC
Template:Fb	AFC
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	AFC
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	AFC
Template:Fb	CAF
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	AFC
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:FbTemplate:Efn	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	CAF
Template:Fb	AFC
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	AFC
Template:Fb	CAF
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	UEFA
Template:Fb	AFC
Template:Fb	CONCACAF
Template:Fb	CONMEBOL
Template:Fb	UEFA
Total	WORLD

Honours

Friendly

• Malta International Football Tournament
  • Champions (2): 1992, 2002

External links

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

Template:Malta national football team Template:Maltese football {{#invoke:navbox|navbox | name = UEFA teams | title = National football teams of Europe (UEFA) | state = autocollapse | listclass = hlist

| group1 = Active | list1 =

• Albania
• Andorra
• Armenia
• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• England
• Estonia
• Faroe Islands
• Finland
• France
• Georgia
• Germany
• Gibraltar
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Israel
• Italy
• Kazakhstan
• Kosovo
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Moldova
• Montenegro
• Netherlands
• North Macedonia
• Northern Ireland
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Republic of Ireland
• Romania
• Russia
• San Marino
• Scotland
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• Ukraine
• Wales

| group2 = Defunct | list2 =

• Czechoslovakia
• East Germany
• Ireland (1882–1950)
• Saarland
• Soviet Union (CIS)
• Yugoslavia (FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro)

}} Template:National sports teams of Malta