Malta vs England: Group C bottom-placed Malta will be hosting table toppers England. While they will hope to turn their fate around with a win, their opponents will not make it easy. England have already defeated Italy and Ukraine in their last two Euro qualifiers matches. The 172nd ranked Malta have little to no odds of winning against the 5th ranked England. If the inevitable is to happen, they will have to do their best to keep the scoreline respectable.
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Malta’s journey to qualify for a major international tournament for the first time has started in an expected way. They have started with two consecutive losses against Italy and North Macedonia. They lost 2-1 against North Macedonia in their first qualifying match. Their 2nd match was as tough as this one against the mighty Italy. Italy put two past Malta which were courtesy of Matteo Pessina and Mateo Retegui. The two goals in the first half won the Azzurris the match against Malta.
With that, they were on a three-match losing streak going into a friendly against Luxembourg a week ago. Luxembourg are 81 places higher than them in the FIFA ranking order. Yet, Malta managed to end their 3-match losing streak with a single goal from Kyrian Nwoko in the 64th minute mark. Hence, they will be approaching their match against England with newfound confidence. However, it’s still unknown how much that will help them against the England team that are currently in a terrific form.
Malta also have only a single clean sheet to show for their effort in the last 7 home games. Additionally, the record is not in their favour as they have lost 11 consecutive defeats in Euro qualifying matches. Their last win came in March, 2019 when they defeated Faroe Islands by a 2-1 scoreline. Even if they don’t win the match against the Three Lions, their focus will them have to be on ending the match with a respectable scoreline. Following this match, the Ukraine team will be waiting for them on Monday.
Malta’s 22-year-old young uncapped goalkeeper Cain Formosa will probably spend this his time on the bench again. It will be a surprise if the coach makes any changes to the side that won him the match against Luxembourg. However, since Nwoko won him the match, he could be starting the match against England. They will miss Teddy Teuma to an injury. It will be a loss for them as the player has assisted 12 times for Union SG in Belgium’s first division competition.
With Teuma out, they now only have two foreign-based players in their squad. Even though Jodi Jones is yet to put one behind the net for his country, the coach could still line him up in the attack along with Nwoko. Zach Muscat will surely get called in the defense line along with Apap and Borg. The midfield will be left in the charge of Mbong, Grech, Guillaumier, Yankam, and Camenzuli. Whereas, Bonello will take his place under the goalpost.
Malta Probable Starting XI: Bonello; Muscat, Apap, Borg; Mbong, Grech, Guillaumier, Yankam, Camenzuli; Jones, Nwoko
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