Malta national football team

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Malta
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Knights of Malta, Ħomor (Reds)
Association Malta Football Association
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head 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 156
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 colours
Away colours
First international
Malta Malta 2–3 Austria 
(Gżira, Malta; February 24, 1957)
Biggest win
Malta Malta 7–1 Liechtenstein 
(Ta' Qali, Malta; March 26, 2008)
Biggest defeat
 Spain 12–1 Malta 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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Players

[edit] 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.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Andrew Hogg March 2, 1985 (1985-03-02) (age 26) 24 0 Malta Valletta
12 GK Justin Haber June 9, 1981 (1981-06-09) (age 30) 42 0 Greece Kerkyra
22 GK Mario Muscat August 18, 1976 (1976-08-18) (age 35) 68 0 Malta Hibernians
2 DF Jonathan Caruana July 24, 1986 (1986-07-24) (age 25) 21 0 Malta Valletta
3 DF Carlo Mamo April 23, 1979 (1979-04-23) (age 32) 21 0 Malta Tarxien Rainbows
5 DF Andrei Agius August 12, 1986 (1986-08-12) (age 25) 25 0 Italy Latina
8 DF Roderick Briffa August 24, 1981 (1981-08-24) (age 30) 59 0 Malta Valletta
15 DF Steve Borg May 15, 1988 (1988-05-15) (age 23) 2 0 Malta Valletta
20 DF Edward Herrera November 14, 1986 (1986-11-14) (age 25) 4 0 Malta Hibernians
23 DF Joseph Zerafa May 31, 1988 (1988-05-31) (age 23) 1 0 Malta Birkirkara
4 MF Gareth Sciberras March 29, 1983 (1983-03-29) (age 28) 26 0 Malta Birkirkara
6 MF Ryan Fenech April 20, 1986 (1986-04-20) (age 25) 27 0 Malta Valletta
10 MF Paul Fenech December 20, 1986 (1986-12-20) (age 25) 10 0 Malta Birkirkara
11 MF Gilbert Agius February 12, 1974 (1974-02-12) (age 37) 121 8 Malta Valletta
13 MF André Schembri May 27, 1986 (1986-05-27) (age 25) 38 3 Greece Panionios
18 MF Jamie Pace January 1, 1977 (1977-01-01) (age 35) 47 3 Malta Valletta
21 MF Clayton Failla January 8, 1986 (1986-01-08) (age 26) 18 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers
7 FW Christian Caruana October 21, 1986 (1986-10-21) (age 25) 2 0 Malta Floriana
9 FW Michael Mifsud April 17, 1981 (1981-04-17) (age 30) 87 30 Malta Valletta
14 FW Andrew Cohen May 13, 1981 (1981-05-13) (age 30) 45 1 Malta Hibernians
16 FW J.P. Mifsud Triganza November 20, 1981 (1981-11-20) (age 30) 1 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers
17 FW Danijel Bogdanović March 26, 1980 (1980-03-26) (age 31) 36 1 England Blackpool
19 FW Trevor Cilia January 2, 1983 (1983-01-02) (age 29) 4 0 Malta Birkirkara

[edit] Recent call-ups

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up
GK Reuben Gauci October 28, 1983 (1983-10-28) (age 28) 1 0 Malta Marsaxlokk v  Georgia, September 6, 2011
GK Anthony Curmi November 20, 1982 (1982-11-20) (age 29) 0 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers v.  Croatia, November 17, 2010
DF Manny Muscat December 7, 1984 (1984-12-07) (age 27) 8 0 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix v  Georgia, September 6, 2011
DF Massimo Grima August 6, 1979 (1979-08-06) (age 32) 10 0 Malta Ħamrun Spartans v.  Croatia, November 17, 2010
DF Kenneth Scicluna June 15, 1979 (1979-06-15) (age 32) 27 0 Malta Qormi v.  Germany, May 13, 2010
DF Alex Muscat December 14, 1984 (1984-12-14) (age 27) 12 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers v.  Germany, May 13, 2010
DF Steve Bezzina January 5, 1987 (1987-01-05) (age 25) 2 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers v.  Finland, March 4, 2010
DF Aaron Xuereb October 3, 1979 (1979-10-03) (age 32) 2 0 Malta Hibernians v.  Finland, March 4, 2010
DF Luke Dimech January 11, 1977 (1977-01-11) (age 35) 66 1 Cyprus AEK Larnaca v.  Sweden, June 10, 2009
MF Shaun Bajada August 19, 1983 (1983-08-19) (age 28) 27 0 Malta Birkirkara v.  Greece, June 4, 2011
MF John Mintoff August 23, 1988 (1988-08-23) (age 23) 0 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers v.  Greece, June 4, 2011
MF Kevin Sammut May 26, 1981 (1981-05-26) (age 30) 38 0 Malta Ħamrun Spartans v.  Switzerland, February 9, 2011
MF George Mallia October 10, 1978 (1978-10-10) (age 33) 62 6 Malta Qormi v.  Bulgaria, November 18, 2009
MF Cleavon Frendo July 1, 1985 (1985-07-01) (age 26) 9 1 Malta Sliema Wanderers v.  Albania, September 10, 2009
MF John Hutchinson December 29, 1981 (1981-12-29) (age 30) 12 0 Australia Central Coast Mariners v  Greece, June 4, 2011
FW Ivan Woods December 31, 1976 (1976-12-31) (age 35) 49 1 Malta Floriana v  Greece, June 4, 2011
FW Etienne Barbara June 10, 1982 (1982-06-10) (age 29) 30 3 United States Carolina RailHawks v.  Bulgaria, November 18, 2009
FW Terence Scerri April 3, 1984 (1984-04-03) (age 27) 17 1 Malta Valletta v.  Portugal, October 14, 2009

[edit] Statistics

Source: RSSSF

[edit] Players with 30 or more caps

       

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] UEFA Euro 2012 qualification

Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group F
Team
Pld 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 Georgia (country) Greece Israel Latvia Malta
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 —


[edit] Competition history

[edit] 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


[edit] 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 49 261 -214
International Tournaments 41 12 11 18 39 50 -11
Friendly 111 24 27 62 93 188 -91
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
 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

[edit] Malta managers

Manager Nationality Malta career Played Won Drawn Lost Win %
Joe A. Griffiths Malta 1957–1961 6 2 2 2 33.3
Carm Borg Malta 1961–1964 9 0 2 7 0
Janos Bedl Hungary 1966 2 2 0 0 100
Tony Formosa* Malta 1966 10 1 1 8 10
Joseph Attard Malta 1969 1 0 0 1 0
Saviour Cuschieri Malta 1970 1 0 1 0 0
Victor Scerri Malta 1973 2 1 0 1 50
Terrenzio Polverini Italy 1974–1976 9 1 2 6 11.1
John Calleja Malta 1976–1978 11 2 1 8 18.8
Victor Scerri Malta 1978–1983 26 3 3 20 11.5
Guentcho Dobrev Bulgaria 1984–1987 21 1 4 16 4.7
Horst Heese Germany 1988–1991 36 3 8 25 8.3
Pippo Psaila Malta 1991–1993 17 5 4 8 29.4
Nikola Bokun Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1993 4 1 0 3 25
Pietro Ghedin Italy 1993–1995 24 4 5 15 16.6
Robert Gatt Malta 1996 3 0 1 2 0
Milorad Kosanović Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1996–1997 15 0 2 13 0
Josif Ilić Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1997–2001 41 5 4 32 12.1
Sigfried Held Germany 2001–2003 21 4 5 12 19.04
Horst Heese** Germany 2003–2006 15 1 2 12 6.7
Dušan Fitzel** Czech Republic 2006–2009 34 3 4 27 8.82
John Buttigieg** Malta 2009–2011 3 1 1 1 0

* 1 match with Janos Bedl ** Assisted by Carmel Busuttil

[edit] Fifa ranking

Rank Date
Worst Ever Rank 173[8] July 2011
Best Ever Rank 66 (two times) September 1994, September 1995
Current Rank 156[14] December 2011

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "History of the Malta Football Association". Malta Football Association. http://www.mfa.com.mt/maltafootballassociation/content.aspx?id=96399. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Brincat, Henry (15 October 2006). "Malta 2–1 Hungary". The Malta Independent. http://www.independent.com.mt/news2.asp?artid=40420. 
  3. ^ "Malta's International 'A' Matches". Malta Football Association. http://www.mfa.com.mt/MaltaFootballAssociation/content.aspx?id=110121. Retrieved 2 September 2011. 
  4. ^ "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. 
  5. ^ 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. 
  6. ^ 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. 
  7. ^ "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. 
  8. ^ 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. 
  9. ^ "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. 
  10. ^ "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. 
  11. ^ 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. 
  12. ^ MALTA SQUAD NAMED
  13. ^ UEFA EURO 2012 > Matches 2012 Match report of Euro 2012 qualifier.
  14. ^ "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. 

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