- Malta national football team
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Malta Nickname(s) Knights of Malta, Ħomor (Reds) Association Malta Football Association Confederation UEFA (Europe) Head coach Position available Asst coach Position available Captain Michael Mifsud Most caps David Carabott (122) Top scorer Michael Mifsud (30) Home stadium Ta' Qali Stadium FIFA code MLT FIFA ranking 153 Highest FIFA ranking 66 (September 1994) Lowest FIFA ranking 173 (July 2011) Elo ranking 155 Highest Elo ranking 98 (February 1992) Lowest Elo ranking 164 (October 2001) Home coloursAway coloursFirst international Malta 2–3 Austria
(Gżira, Malta; February 24, 1957)Biggest win Malta 7–1 Liechtenstein
(Ta' Qali, Malta; March 26, 2008)Biggest defeat Spain 12–1 Malta
(Seville, Spain; December 21, 1983)The Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game in February 1957, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory came in 1975. Due to its small size, Malta does not have many professional players, which makes it hard to advance to the finals of any major international competition.
Contents
History
Malta played its first international game on 24 February 1957 at the Empire Stadium, losing 2–3 to Austria. This was a very historic match for Malta, and made footballing headlines around Europe. Malta had a very close game with a then very strong Austrian team, where Malta's players were not professional and were practically men off the street. 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.[1]
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 the European championship. 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.[2] 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]
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. In 2006, in a friendly against Japan, played for the World Cup Finals preparation in Germany, Malta managed to win 1–0. On 11 October 2006, Malta managed another competitive victory, a 2–1 triumph over Hungary in the European Championship qualifying with Andre Schembri scoring twice.[2]
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.[4] Another friendly against Austria in June 2008 ended in a 5–1 defeat.[5] On 8 September 2007 Malta managed another draw against Turkey in a Euro 2008 qualifying match, the game finishing 2–2.[6] 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.[7] A 2–0 friendly win over Georgia followed in 2009.[8]
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.[9] One month later, however, the side had fallen to their lowest ever FIFA world ranking position, of 169th in the world.[8] 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 European Championship qualifying game, with Michael Mifsud scoring a brilliant diving header for Malta.[10]
In February 2011 the side achieved a 0–0 draw against Switzerland, in which goalkeeper Justin Haber saved two penalties.[8] Mifsud scored twice on 10 August 2011, when Malta beat the Central African Republic 2–1 at home.[11] 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 as a result of this coach John Buttigieg and assistant coach Carmel Busittil were both sacked. Malta has been drawn in a group with Italy, Denmark, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Armenia for qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Players
Current squad
The following players were named for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers against Latvia and Israel on October 7 and 11, 2011.[12]
Caps and goals updated as October 11, 2011.
# Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Andrew Hogg March 2, 1985 24 0 Valletta 12 GK Justin Haber June 9, 1981 42 0 Kerkyra 2 DF Jonathan Caruana July 24, 1986 21 0 Valletta 3 DF Carlo Mamo April 23, 1979 21 0 Floriana 5 DF Andrei Agius August 12, 1986 25 0 Latina 8 DF Roderick Briffa August 24, 1981 59 0 Valletta 15 DF Steve Borg May 15, 1988 2 0 Valletta 16 DF Edward Herrera November 14, 1986 4 0 Hibernians 17 DF Joseph Zerafa May 31, 1988 1 0 Birkirkara 5 MF Gareth Sciberras March 29, 1983 26 0 Birkirkara 6 MF Ryan Fenech April 20, 1986 27 0 Valletta 10 MF Paul Fenech December 20, 1986 10 0 Birkirkara 11 MF John Hutchinson December 29, 1981 12 0 Chengdu Blades 18 MF Jamie Pace January 1, 1977 47 3 Valletta MF Trevor Cilia January 2, 1983 4 0 Birkirkara MF Clayton Failla January 8, 1986 18 0 Sliema Wanderers 7 FW Christian Caruana October 21, 1986 2 0 Floriana 9 FW Michael Mifsud April 17, 1981 87 30 Valletta 13 FW André Schembri May 27, 1986 38 3 Panionios 14 FW Ivan Woods December 31, 1976 49 1 Floriana FW Andrew Cohen May 13, 1981 45 1 Hibernians Recent call-ups
Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Reuben Gauci October 28, 1983 1 0 Marsaxlokk v Georgia, September 6, 2011 GK Anthony Curmi November 20, 1982 0 0 Sliema Wanderers v. Croatia, November 17, 2010 GK Mario Muscat August 18, 1976 68 0 Hibernians v. Latvia, September 7, 2010 DF Manny Muscat December 7, 1984 8 0 Wellington Phoenix v Georgia, September 6, 2011 DF Massimo Grima August 6, 1979 10 0 Ħamrun Spartans v. Croatia, November 17, 2010 DF Kenneth Scicluna June 15, 1979 27 0 Qormi v. Germany, May 13, 2010 DF Alex Muscat December 14, 1984 12 0 Sliema Wanderers v. Germany, May 13, 2010 DF Steve Bezzina January 5, 1987 2 0 Sliema Wanderers v. Finland, March 4, 2010 DF Aaron Xuereb October 3, 1979 2 0 Hibernians v. Finland, March 4, 2010 DF Luke Dimech January 11, 1977 66 1 AEK Larnaca v. Sweden, June 10, 2009 MF Shaun Bajada August 19, 1983 27 0 Birkirkara v. Greece, June 4, 2011 MF John Mintoff August 23, 1988 0 0 Sliema Wanderers v. Greece, June 4, 2011 MF Kevin Sammut May 26, 1981 38 0 Ħamrun Spartans v. Switzerland, February 9, 2011 MF Gilbert Agius February 12, 1974 121 8 Valletta v. Bulgaria, November 18, 2009 MF George Mallia October 10, 1978 62 6 Qormi v. Bulgaria, November 18, 2009 MF Cleavon Frendo July 1, 1985 9 1 Sliema Wanderers v. Albania, September 10, 2009 FW Danijel Bogdanović March 26, 1980 36 1 Blackpool v Georgia, September 6, 2011 FW Etienne Barbara June 10, 1982 30 3 Carolina RailHawks v. Bulgaria, November 18, 2009 FW J.P Mifsud Triganza November 20, 1981 1 0 Sliema Wanderers v. Bulgaria, November 18, 2009 FW Terence Scerri April 3, 1984 17 1 Valletta v. Portugal, October 14, 2009 Statistics
Source: RSSSF
Players with 30 or more caps
- Edwin Camilleri
- Joseph Camilleri
- David Carabott
- Jeffrey Chetcuti
- David Cluett
- Andrew Cohen
- Darren Debono
- Michael Degiorgio
- Luke Dimech
- Edwin Farrugia
- Emanuele Farrugia
- Joseph Galea
- Stefan Giglio
- Martin Gregory
- Justin Haber
- John Holland
- Kristian Laferla
- George Mallia
- Michael Mifsud
- Mario Muscat
- Chucks Nwoko
- Jamie Pace
- Brian Said
- Nicky Saliba
- Kevin Sammut
- Charles Scerri
- André Schembri
- Hubert Suda
- Stefan Sultana
- Daniel Theuma
- Noel Turner
- Raymond Vella
- Silvio Vella
- Ivan Woods
- George Xuereb
- Raymond Xuereb
- Antoine Zahra
Most capped Maltese players
No. Name Career Caps Goals 1 David Carabott 1987–2005 122 12 = Gilbert Agius 1993–present 119 8 3 Carmel Busuttil 1982–2001 111 23 4 Joe Brincat 1988–2004 103 6 5 John Buttigieg 1984–2000 95 1 6 Brian Said 1996–Present 91 5 7 Silvio Vella 1988–2000 90 1 8 Michael Mifsud 2000–Present 87 30 9 Michael Degiorgio 1981–1992 74 4 10 Hubert Suda 1988–2003 70 8 - Players in bold denote the player is still available for selection.
Top Maltese goalscorers
No. Name Career Goals Caps 1 Michael Mifsud 2000–Present 30 87 2 Carmel Busuttil 1982–2001 23 111 3 David Carabott 1987–2005 12 121 4 Gilbert Agius 1993–Present 8 119 = Hubert Suda 1988–2003 8 70 6 Kristian Laferla 1986–1998 6 65 = Raymond Xuereb 1971–1985 6 43 = Joe Brincat 1988–2004 6 103 9 George Mallia 1999–Present 6 65 10 Brian Said 1996–Present 5 91 - Players in bold denote the player is still available for selection.
UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group FTeamPld W D L GF GA GD Pts Greece 10 7 3 0 14 5 +9 24 Croatia 10 7 1 2 18 7 +11 22 Israel 10 5 1 4 13 11 +2 16 Latvia 10 3 2 5 9 12 −3 11 Georgia 10 2 4 4 7 9 −2 10 Malta 10 0 1 9 4 21 −17 1 Croatia — 2–1 0–0 3–1 2–0 3–0 Georgia 1–0 — 1–2 0–0 0–1 1–0 Greece 2–0 1–1 — 2–1 1–0 3–1 Israel 1–2 1–0 0–1 — 2–1 3–1 Latvia 0–3 1–1 1–1 1–2 — 2–0 Malta 1–3 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–2 — Competition history
World Cup and Euro record
World Cup Euro 1974 - Finished 4th (out of 4) in Qualifying group 1964 - Lost 6–1 and 3–1 against Denmark 1978 - Finished 4th (out of 4) in Qualifying group 1972 - Finished 4th (out of 4) in Qualifying group 1982 - Finished 3rd (out of 3) in Qualifying group 1976 - Finished 4th (out of 4) in Qualifying group 1986 - Finished 5th (out of 5) in Qualifying group 1980 - Finished 4th (out of 4) in Qualifying group 1990 - Finished 5th (out of 5) in Qualifying group 1984 - Finished 5th (out of 5) in Qualifying group 1994 - Finished 5th (out of 6) in Qualifying group 1988 - Finished 5th (out of 5) in Qualifying group 1998 - Finished 6th (out of 6) in Qualifying group 1992 - Finished 5th (out of 5) in Qualifying group 2002 - Finished 6th (out of 6) in Qualifying group 1996 - Finished 6th (out of 6) in Qualifying group 2006 - Finished 6th (out of 6) in Qualifying group 2000 - Finished 5th (out of 5) in Qualifying group 2010 - Finished 6th (out of 6) in Qualifying group 2004 - Finished 5th (out of 5) in Qualifying group 2014 - TBD 2008 - Finished 7th (out of 7) in Qualifying group 2012 - Finished 6th (out of 6) in Qualifying group Record versus different opponents
Tournament Games Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference World Cup Qualifying 78 1 9 68 24 246 -222 Euro Qualifying 87 3 12 71 48 261 -215 International Tournaments 41 12 11 18 39 50 -11 Friendly 111 24 27 62 93 192 -95 Total 311 38 55 219 198 738 -542 Opponent Games Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Iceland 14 3 1 10 11 32 -21 Hungary 12 1 2 9 6 28 -22 Tunisia 10 4 3 3 9 11 -2 Austria 9 0 1 8 6 30 -24 Libya 9 3 2 4 6 9 -3 Portugal 9 0 1 8 5 24 -19 Sweden 9 0 0 9 2 37 -35 Bulgaria 8 0 2 6 2 24 -22 Denmark 8 1 0 7 6 24 -18 Greece 9 1 2 6 6 19 -13 Norway 8 0 2 6 3 21 -18 Albania 7 2 2 3 6 9 -3 Moldova 7 1 2 4 6 9 -3 Republic of Ireland 7 0 0 7 2 24 -22 Cyprus 6 1 2 3 4 8 -4 Czech Republic 6 0 2 4 3 16 -13 Finland 6 1 2 3 4 7 -3 East Germany 6 0 0 6 2 22 -20 Israel 6 0 2 5 6 13 -7 Netherlands 6 0 0 6 0 28 -28 Northern Ireland 6 0 1 5 1 11 -10 Spain 6 0 0 6 3 28 -25 Switzerland 7 0 2 5 3 17 -14 Turkey 6 0 1 5 4 15 -11 West Germany 6 0 1 5 2 26 -24 Macedonia 6 0 1 5 2 15 -13 Scotland 5 0 1 4 4 11 -7 Slovakia 4 0 0 4 2 14 -12 Belarus 4 0 1 3 1 8 -7 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 1 0 3 4 9 -5 Croatia 5 0 1 4 5 13 -8 Estonia 4 2 1 1 7 4 3 Georgia 7 1 3 3 6 9 -3 Italy 4 0 0 4 2 15 -13 Luxembourg 4 0 2 2 2 4 -2 Poland 4 0 0 4 0 13 -13 Slovenia 4 0 1 3 1 7 -6 Wales 4 0 0 4 2 15 -13 Yugoslavia 4 0 0 4 1 18 -17 Algeria 3 2 1 0 3 1 2 Armenia 3 0 0 3 0 3 -3 Azerbaijan 3 3 0 0 9 0 9 England 3 0 0 3 1 8 -7 Faroe Islands 3 0 0 3 4 7 -3 Latvia 4 2 0 2 3 5 -2 Andorra 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 Canada 2 2 0 0 4 1 3 Czechoslovakia 2 0 1 1 0 4 -4 Egypt 2 0 0 2 2 8 -6 France 2 0 0 2 0 10 -10 Germany 2 0 0 2 1 9 -8 Indonesia 2 2 0 0 4 0 4 Italy C 2 0 0 2 0 5 -5 Jordan 2 2 0 0 5 2 3 Lebanon 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 Liechtenstein 2 1 1 0 8 2 6 Lithuania 2 0 1 1 2 5 -3 South Korea 2 0 1 1 2 3 -1 United Arab Emirates 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 Andalusia 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Belgium 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 England B 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 Gabon 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 Gozo 1 0 0 1 3 4 -1 Italy U21 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 Italy U23 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 Japan 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 Kazakhstan 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 Qatar 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 Russia 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 South Africa 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 Thailand 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 Tunisia B 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 United States 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 Malta managers
Manager Nationality Malta career Played Won Drawn Lost Win % Joe A. Griffiths 1957–1961 6 2 2 2 33.3 Carm Borg 1961–1964 9 0 2 7 0 Janos Bedl 1966 2 2 0 0 100 Tony Formosa* 1966 10 1 1 8 10 Joseph Attard 1969 1 0 0 1 0 Saviour Cuschieri 1970 1 0 1 0 0 Victor Scerri 1973 2 1 0 1 50 Terrenzio Polverini 1974–1976 9 1 2 6 11.1 John Calleja 1976–1978 11 2 1 8 18.8 Victor Scerri 1978–1983 26 3 3 20 11.5 Guentcho Dobrev 1984–1987 21 1 4 16 4.7 Horst Heese 1988–1991 36 3 8 25 8.3 Pippo Psaila 1991–1993 17 5 4 8 29.4 Nikola Bokun 1993 4 1 0 3 25 Pietro Ghedin 1993–1995 24 4 5 15 16.6 Robert Gatt 1996 3 0 1 2 0 Milorad Kosanović 1996–1997 15 0 2 13 0 Josif Ilić 1997–2001 41 5 4 32 12.1 Sigfried Held 2001–2003 21 4 5 12 19.04 Horst Heese** 2003–2006 15 1 2 12 6.7 Dušan Fitzel** 2006–2009 34 3 4 27 8.82 John Buttigieg** 2009–present 3 1 1 1 0 * 1 match with Janos Bedl ** Assisted by Carmel Busuttil
Fifa ranking
Rank Date Worst Ever Rank 173[8] July 2011 Best Ever Rank 66 (two times) September 1994, September 1995 Current Rank 158[14] October 2011 See also
References
- ^ "History of the Malta Football Association". Malta Football Association. http://www.mfa.com.mt/maltafootballassociation/content.aspx?id=96399. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- ^ a b Brincat, Henry (15 October 2006). "Malta 2–1 Hungary". The Malta Independent. http://www.independent.com.mt/news2.asp?artid=40420.
- ^ "Malta's International 'A' Matches". Malta Football Association. http://www.mfa.com.mt/MaltaFootballAssociation/content.aspx?id=110121. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- ^ "Malta to play Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria on 30 May". The Malta Independent. 22 December 2007. http://www.independent.com.mt/news2.asp?artid=62384.
- ^ Azzopardi, Kevin (1 June 2008). "Fitzel hopes debacle serves as 'wake-up call'". The Times of Malta. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080601/sport/fitzel-hopes-debacle-serves-as-wake-up-call.210506.
- ^ Huggins, Trevor (9 September 2007). "England notch easy win against Israel". Reuters UK. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2007/09/09/uk-soccer-euro-idUKL083567320070909.
- ^ "Five-goal Mifsud inspires Malta to massive win". The Times of Malta. 27 March 2008. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080327/sport/five-goal-mifsud-inspires-malta-to-massive-win.201718.
- ^ a b c d "Malta make ground from Swiss denial". fifa.com. 7 April 2011. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/news/newsid=1413516.html.
- ^ "High-profile friendly a useful test - Buttigieg". The Times of Malta. 11 May 2010. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100511/football/high-profile-friendly-a-useful-test-buttigieg.306743.
- ^ "Malta-Maceddonia draw 1–1". The Times of Malta. 11 August 2010. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100811/sport/malta-macedonia-draw-1-1.321999.
- ^ Grech, Kevin (10 August 2011). "Mifsud the hero as Malta defeat Central African Republic". maltatoday.com. http://maltatoday.com.mt/sports/football/mifsud-the-hero-as-malta-defeat-central-african-republic.
- ^ MALTA SQUAD NAMED
- ^ UEFA EURO 2012 > Matches 2012 Match report of Euro 2012 qualifier.
- ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". fifa.com. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html#confederation=0&rank=208&page=4. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
External links
- Official site of the Malta Football Association
- RSSSF archive of results 1957-
- A football tournament for the small nations of Europe
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