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 Pietro Ghedin
Captain Michael Mifsud
Most caps David Carabott (121)
Top scorer Michael Mifsud (37)
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 145
Highest Elo ranking 98 (February 1992)
Lowest Elo ranking 164 (October 2001)
First colours
Second 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 represents Malta in international football and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game on 24 February 1957 against Austria, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory arrived in 1975 against Greece. Considered to be one of the weaker sides in Europe, Malta has never made it to the finals of any major international competition. They have however never ranked at the bottom of the FIFA World Rankings, while getting as high as 66th in the top 100.

Contents

History[edit]

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. 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 coach John Buttigieg and assistant coach Carmel Busittil were both sacked in October 2011.[12] 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. In their match vs Armenia in June 2013, Malta claimed their first world cup qualifying win in 20 years, nabbing a 1-0 victory.

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following 22 players were named for the World Cup Qualifying match against Armenia on 7 June 2013. Caps and goals are correct as of 7 June 2013.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Justin Haber (1981-06-09) June 9, 1981 (age 32) 46 0 Malta Birkirkara
12 1GK Mario Muscat (1976-08-18) August 18, 1976 (age 36) 64 0 Malta Hibernians
21 1GK Glenn Zammit (1987-08-05) August 5, 1987 (age 25) 0 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers
2 2DF Jonathan Caruana (1986-07-24) July 24, 1986 (age 26) 28 1 Malta Valletta
5 2DF Ryan Camilleri (1988-05-22) May 22, 1988 (age 25) 6 0 Malta Hibernians
6 2DF Luke Dimech (1977-01-11) January 11, 1977 (age 36) 76 1 Malta Valletta
7 2DF Clayton Failla (1986-01-08) January 8, 1986 (age 27) 26 0 Malta Hibernians
17 2DF Jacob Borg (1991-05-02) May 2, 1991 (age 22) 0 0 Malta Balzan
20 2DF Justin Grioli (1987-09-20) September 20, 1987 (age 25) 0 0 Malta Tarxien
22 2DF Alex Muscat (1984-12-14) December 14, 1984 (age 28) 19 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers
4 3MF Gareth Sciberras (1983-03-29) March 29, 1983 (age 30) 34 0 Malta Birkirkara
8 3MF Roderick Briffa (1981-08-24) August 24, 1981 (age 31) 72 1 Malta Valletta
14 3MF Paul Fenech (1986-12-20) December 20, 1986 (age 26) 16 0 Malta Birkirkara
15 3MF Luke Sciberras (1989-09-15) September 15, 1989 (age 23) 0 0 Malta Qormi
15 3MF Rowen Muscat (1991-06-15) June 15, 1991 (age 22) 3 0 Malta Birkirkara
18 3MF Shaun Bajada (1983-08-19) August 19, 1983 (age 29) 33 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers
23 3MF Clifford Gatt Baldacchino (1988-02-09) February 9, 1988 (age 25) 0 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers
9 4FW Michael Mifsud (1981-04-17) April 17, 1981 (age 32) 96 37 Malta Valletta
10 4FW Andrew Cohen (1981-05-13) May 13, 1981 (age 32) 52 1 Malta Hibernians
11 4FW Edward Herrera (1986-11-14) November 14, 1986 (age 26) 11 0 Malta Hibernians
13 4FW André Schembri (1986-05-27) May 27, 1986 (age 27) 50 3 Cyprus Omonia Nicosia
16 4FW Terence Vella (1990-04-20) April 20, 1990 (age 23) 3 0 Malta Ħamrun Spartans
19 4FW Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza (1981-11-20) November 20, 1981 (age 31) 1 0 Malta Birkirkara

Recent call-ups[edit]

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

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Andrew Hogg (1985-03-02) March 2, 1985 (age 28) 31 0 Cyprus Enosis Neon Paralimni v.  Italy, 26 March 2013
GK Henry Bonello (1988-10-13) October 13, 1988 (age 24) 1 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers v.  Liechtenstein, 14 November 2012
DF Andrei Agius (1986-08-12) August 12, 1986 (age 26) 34 1 Italy Latina v.  Italy, 26 March 2013
DF Joseph Zerafa (1988-05-31) May 31, 1988 (age 25) 2 0 Malta Birkirkara v.  Northern Ireland, 6 February 2013
DF Alex Cini (1991-10-28) October 28, 1991 (age 21) 0 0 Malta Mosta v.  Liechtenstein, 14 November 2012
DF Steve Borg (1988-05-15) May 15, 1988 (age 25) 8 0 Malta Valletta v.  Czech Republic, 10 October 2012
MF Ryan Fenech (1986-04-20) April 20, 1986 (age 27) 29 0 Malta Valletta v.  Italy, 26 March 2013
MF Ayrton Azzopardi (1993-09-12) September 12, 1993 (age 19) 1 0 Malta Hibernians v.  Czech Republic, 10 October 2012
MF John Mintoff (1988-08-23) August 23, 1988 (age 24) 1 0 Malta Sliema Wanderers v.  San Marino, 14 August 2012
MF Edmond Agius (1987-02-23) February 23, 1987 (age 26) 2 0 Malta Valletta v.  Italy, 11 September 2012
FW Danijel Bogdanović (1980-03-26) March 26, 1980 (age 33) 40 1 Malta Valletta v.  Bulgaria, 22 March 2012
FW Julian Galea (1989-09-02) September 2, 1989 (age 23) 0 0 Malta Melita v.  Liechtenstein, 14 November 2012
FW Etienne Barbara (1982-06-10) June 10, 1982 (age 31) 31 3 United States Minnesota Stars v.  Italy, 11 September 2012
FW Adam Smeir (1985-08-04) August 4, 1985 (age 27) 0 0 Malta Rabat Ajax v.  San Marino, 14 August 2012
FW Cleavon Frendo (1985-07-01) July 1, 1985 (age 27) 9 1 Malta Sliema Wanderers v.  San Marino, 14 August 2012

Recent results and upcoming fixtures[edit]

2012[edit]

2013[edit]

Competitive record[edit]

FIFA World Cup[edit]

UEFA European Football Championship[edit]

All-time team record[edit]

Main article: List of official matches of the Maltese national football team
Opponents Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD % Win
 Albania 7 1 2 4 6 9 −3 14%
 Algeria 3 2 1 0 3 1 +2 67%
 Andorra 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 0%
 Armenia 5 1 0 4 1 4 −3 20%
 Azerbaijan 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9 100%
 Austria 9 0 1 8 6 30 −24 0%
 Belarus 4 0 1 3 1 8 −7 0%
 Belgium 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100%
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 1 0 3 4 9 −5 25%
 Bulgaria 9 0 2 7 3 28 −25 0%
 Canada 2 2 0 0 4 1 +3 100%
 Central African Republic 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100%
 Croatia 6 0 1 5 4 16 −12 0%
 Cyprus 6 1 2 3 4 8 −4 17%
 Czechoslovakia 2 0 1 1 0 4 −4 0%
 Czech Republic 8 0 2 6 4 20 −16 0%
 Denmark 7 0 0 7 6 24 −21 0%
 East Germany 6 0 0 6 2 22 −20 0%
 Egypt 2 0 0 2 2 8 −6 0%
 England 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0%
 England B 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0%
 Estonia 4 2 1 1 7 4 +3 50%
 Faroe Islands 3 0 0 3 4 7 −3 0%
 Finland 7 0 2 5 3 11 −8 0%
 France 2 0 0 2 0 10 −10 0%
 Gabon 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100%
 Georgia 7 1 3 3 5 9 −4 14%
 Germany 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 0%
 Greece 10 1 2 7 3 24 −21 10%
 Hungary 12 1 2 9 6 28 −22 8%
 Iceland 14 3 1 10 11 32 −21 21%
 Indonesia 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 100%
 Israel 8 0 2 6 6 16 −10 0%
 Italy 4 0 0 4 2 15 −13 0%
 Italy C 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 0%
 Italy U23 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0%
 Italy U21 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0%
 Japan 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0%
 Jordan 2 2 0 0 5 2 +3 100%
 Kazakhstan 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 0%
 Latvia 5 2 0 3 3 7 −4 40%
 Lebanon 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 50%
 Libya 9 3 2 4 6 9 −3 33%
 Liechtenstein 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 75%
 Lithuania 2 0 1 1 2 5 −3 0%
 Luxembourg 5 1 2 2 4 4 0 20%
 Macedonia 6 0 1 5 2 15 −13 0%
 Moldova 7 1 2 4 6 9 −3 14%
 Netherlands 6 0 0 6 0 28 −28 0%
 Northern Ireland 6 0 1 5 1 11 −10 0%
 Norway 8 0 2 6 3 21 −18 0%
 Poland 4 0 0 4 0 13 −13 0%
 Portugal 10 0 1 9 5 28 −23 0%
 Qatar 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100%
 Republic of Ireland 7 0 0 7 2 24 −22 0%
 Russia 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0%
 San Marino 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 100%
 Scotland 5 0 1 4 4 11 −7 0%
 Slovakia 5 0 1 4 2 14 −12 0%
 Slovenia 4 0 1 3 1 7 −6 0%
 South Africa 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0%
 South Korea 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 0%
 Spain 6 0 0 6 3 28 −25 0%
 Sweden 11 0 0 11 3 41 −38 0%
 Switzerland 7 0 2 5 3 17 −14 0%
 Thailand 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100%
 Tunisia 10 4 3 3 9 11 −2 40%
 Tunisia B 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100%
 Turkey 6 0 1 5 4 15 −11 0%
 United Arab Emirates 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 0%
 United States 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0%
 Wales 4 0 0 4 2 15 −13 0%
 West Germany 6 0 1 5 2 26 −24 0%
 Yugoslavia 4 0 0 4 1 18 −17 0%
Total 335 46 57 232 213 746 −531 30%

Managers[edit]

As of June 7, 2013
Manager Malta career Played Won Drawn Lost Win %
Malta Joe A. Griffiths 1957–1961 70006000000000000006 70002000000000000002 70002000000000000002 70002000000000000002 700133300999990000033.3
Malta Carm Borg 1961–1964 70009000000000000009 50000000000000000000 70002000000000000002 70007000000000000007 &050000000000000000000.0
Hungary Janos Bedl 1966 70002000000000000002 70002000000000000002 50000000000000000000 50000000000000000000 7002100000000000000100.00
Malta Tony Formosa[1] 1966 700110000000000000010 70001000000000000001 70001000000000000001 70008000000000000008 700110000000000000010.0
Malta Joseph Attard 1969 70001000000000000001 50000000000000000000 50000000000000000000 70001000000000000001 &050000000000000000000.0
Malta Saviour Cuschieri 1970 70001000000000000001 50000000000000000000 70001000000000000001 50000000000000000000 &050000000000000000000.0
Malta Victor Scerri 1973 70002000000000000002 70001000000000000001 50000000000000000000 70001000000000000001 700150000000000000050.0
Italy Terrenzio Polverini 1974–1976 70009000000000000009 70001000000000000001 70002000000000000002 70006000000000000006 700111100000000000011.1
Malta John Calleja 1976–1978 700111000000000000011 70002000000000000002 70001000000000000001 70008000000000000008 700118200000000000018.2
Malta Victor Scerri 1978–1983 700126000000000000026 70003000000000000003 70003000000000000003 700120000000000000020 700111500000000000011.5
Bulgaria Guentcho Dobrev 1984–1987 700121000000000000021 70001000000000000001 70004000000000000004 700116000000000000016 &070004800000000000004.8
Malta Horst Heese 1988–1991 700136000000000000036 70003000000000000003 70008000000000000008 700125000000000000025 &070008300000000000008.3
Malta Pippo Psaila 1991–1993 700117000000000000017 70005000000000000005 70004000000000000004 70008000000000000008 700129400000000000029.4
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nikola Bokun 1993 70004000000000000004 70001000000000000001 50000000000000000000 70003000000000000003 700125000000000000025.0
Italy Pietro Ghedin 1993–1995 700124000000000000024 70004000000000000004 70005000000000000005 700115000000000000015 700116700000000000016.7
Malta Robert Gatt 1996 70003000000000000003 50000000000000000000 70001000000000000001 70002000000000000002 &050000000000000000000.0
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Milorad Kosanović 1996–1997 700115000000000000015 50000000000000000000 70002000000000000002 700113000000000000013 &050000000000000000000.0
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Josif Ilić 1997–2001 700141000000000000041 70005000000000000005 70004000000000000004 700132000000000000032 700112200000000000012.2
Germany Sigfried Held 2001–2003 700121000000000000021 70004000000000000004 70005000000000000005 700112000000000000012 700119000000000000019.0
Germany Horst Heese[2] 2003–2006 700115000000000000015 70001000000000000001 70002000000000000002 700112000000000000012 &070006700000000000006.7
Czech Republic Dušan Fitzel[2] 2006–2009 700134000000000000034 70003000000000000003 70004000000000000004 700127000000000000027 &070008800000000000008.8
Malta John Buttigieg[2] 2009–2011 700121000000000000021 70002000000000000002 70003000000000000003 700116000000000000016 &070009500000000000009.5
Malta Robert Gatt[3] 2012 70001000000000000001 70001000000000000001 50000000000000000000 50000000000000000000 7002100000000000000100.00
Italy Pietro Ghedin 2012–present 700110000000000000010 70004000000000000004 70001000000000000001 70005000000000000005 700140000000000000040.0
  1. ^ 1 match with Janos Bedl
  2. ^ a b c assisted by Carmel Busuttil
  3. ^ managed the team on a one-off basis as caretaker manager

Player history[edit]

Players in bold are still active.

Most capped players[edit]

As of 7 June 2013

Players with an equal number of caps are ranked in chronological order of reaching the milestone.

# Name Career Caps Goals
1 David Carabott 1987–2005 121 11
2 Gilbert Agius 1993–2008 120 8
3 Carmel Busuttil 1982–2001 111 23
4 Joe Brincat 1988–2004 103 6
5 Michael Mifsud 2000– 96 37
6 John Buttigieg 1984–2000 95 1
7 Brian Said 1996–2009 91 5
8 Silvio Vella 1988–2000 90 1
9 Luke Dimech 1999– 76 1
10 Michael Degiorgio 1981–1992 74 4

Top goalscorers[edit]

As of 7 June 2013

Goalscorers with an equal number of goals are ranked by their goal average.

# Name Career Goals Caps
1 Michael Mifsud 2000– 37 96
2 Carmel Busuttil 1982–2001 23 111
3 David Carabott 1987–2005 12 121
4 Hubert Suda 1988–2003 8 70
Gilbert Agius 1993–2008 8 119
6 Raymond Xuereb 1971–1985 6 43
Kristian Laferla 1986–1998 6 65
Joe Brincat 1988–2004 6 103
9 George Mallia 1999–2009 6 65
10 Brian Said 1996–2009 5 91

FIFA ranking[edit]

Rank Date
Worst Ever Rank 173[8] July 2011
Best Ever Rank 66 (two times) September 1994, September 1995
Current Rank 156[16] May 2013

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "History of the Malta Football Association". Malta Football Association. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Brincat, Henry (15 October 2006). "Malta 2–1 Hungary". The Malta Independent. 
  3. ^ "Malta's International 'A' Matches". Malta Football Association. Retrieved 2 September 2011. 
  4. ^ "Malta to play Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria on 30 May". The Malta Independent. 22 December 2007. 
  5. ^ Azzopardi, Kevin (1 June 2008). "Fitzel hopes debacle serves as 'wake-up call'". The Times of Malta. 
  6. ^ Huggins, Trevor (9 September 2007). "England notch easy win against Israel". Reuters UK. 
  7. ^ "Five-goal Mifsud inspires Malta to massive win". The Times of Malta. 27 March 2008. 
  8. ^ a b c d "Malta make ground from Swiss denial". fifa.com. 7 April 2011. 
  9. ^ "High-profile friendly a useful test - Buttigieg". The Times of Malta. 11 May 2010. 
  10. ^ "Malta-Maceddonia draw 1–1". The Times of Malta. 11 August 2010. 
  11. ^ Grech, Kevin (10 August 2011). "Mifsud the hero as Malta defeat Central African Republic". maltatoday.com. 
  12. ^ "Malta fires national coach John Buttigieg". ESPN. 26 October 2011. 
  13. ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". fifa.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011. 

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