Everything You Need To Know About Malta’s Remaining Matches In The World Cup
The second phase of the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers has now begun, and Malta has four matches left out of the total 10. The national team is currently last in Group F, with England and Slovakia leading the group of six teams. Here’s a roundup of the matches left for the Maltese football team.
1st September: Malta vs England
A match-up many people will be eagerly anticipating. Last October, England defeated Malta 2-0, but this rematch might see the national team bring the heat at home in the Ta’ Qali Stadium.
4th September: Scotland vs Malta
Malta’s adventure in Group F started off rough with a 5-1 defeat against Scotland all the way back on 4th September 2016, but the second match up against the Scottish team is coming back exactly one year later. Local fans wishing to purchase a ticket for this away match can send an email to [email protected] by no later than 25th July.
5th October: Malta vs Lithuania
Lithuania is currently just above Malta in Group F’s standings with five points, so they’re definitely a team to beat for us to still be in the running for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This will also be the last home match for Malta in these qualifiers.
8th October: Slovakia vs Malta
Slovakia are currently in second place overall, with just two points less than England. Malta’s previous match against Slovakia in the qualifiers was in March, where the national team suffered a 3-1 defeat. Here’s hoping Malta achieves a positive result at the last match of the qualifiers.
Malta’s 2018 World Cup Qualifiers results up till now.
Malta has a potential total of 12 points to gain from the matches ahead, which could drastically change Group F’s standings. Having said that, even if the Maltese team wins each and every remaining match and England loses theirs, we’d still not get as many points as the group leaders currently have.
Malta has taken part in World Cup Qualifiers since 1974, but has never managed to make it to the finals. The very first victory came in May 1993, when the Maltese football team beat Estonia 1-0. Malta’s biggest ever victory was against Lichtenstein with an impressive 7-1 in 2008, and the team’s heaviest defeat was 12-1 against world champions Spain in 1983. Malta is currently ranked 182nd in the official FIFA Global Rankings.