Soccer UEFA Euro Qualification - Group Stage

Malta vs England - Match Preview

⚽ 16 June 2023 - 18:45 GMT +0

Michele Marcolini believes Malta can pull off the mother of all giant killings as they look to get their unlikely dream of reaching a first major tournament off the ground. The manager saw his side narrowly lose to North Macedonia and Italy in their opening UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, but he insists the “unpredictable” nature of football means they can be the “protagonists of an extraordinary tale” against England.

The Falcons can perhaps draw confidence from their recent 1-0 friendly victory over Luxembourg, as well as a run of six wins from their last 13 outings (D1, L6). However, their record in European Championship qualifying leaves a lot to be desired, with the minnows losing 11 fixtures in a row over the last four years and tasting success only once in 41 games since 2006 (D5, L35).

England is, therefore, heavy favourites to repeat the hammering they dished out to Malta when the two sides last met in 2017 when Harry Kane netted twice in a 4-0 victory. Gareth Southgate’s side has responded well to their FIFA World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of France in December by winning their opening two games in Group C, beating Italy and Ukraine earlier this year.

That means the Three Lions arrive in Ta' Qali sitting pretty at the top of Group C, a position they have become accustomed to having finished in first place in their last three European Championship qualifying campaigns, losing just once in the process (W22, D3). That continues a remarkable trend for Southgate, who has an incredible record in qualifiers for major tournaments, winning 24 of his 29 matches since replacing Sam Allardyce in 2016 (D4, L1).

📋 Players to watch: Kyrian Nwoko, Malta’s match-winner against Luxembourg, is unbeaten in the four internationals in which he has scored (W3, D1), netting the first goal on each occasion. Looking to outdo him may be striker Callum Wilson, who hasn’t played for England since the World Cup, but finished the season by netting 11 goals in 12 appearances for Newcastle, winning six of the seven matches in which he scored (D1).

⚡ Hot stat: Ten of England’s last 11 European Championship qualifiers have scored at least three goals.