Malta lost 0-1 to the Netherlands in the opening match from the UEFA Under-19 Championship Group 10 mini-tournament at the Centenary Stadium on Thursday.
Marten de Roon scored the all-important goal for the Netherlands on 62 minutes.
The locals had shots at goal by Lyden Micallef and Steve Pisani in the first half and Triston Caruana after the break.
MALTA: Daniel Balzan, Yan Cauchi (76′ Quincy Bregman), Ishmael Grech, Keith Fedele, Elkien Cauchi (67′ Matthew Gauci), Yessous Camilleri, Steve Pisani, Rowen Muscat, Lyden Micallef (85′ Clyde Borg), Triston Caruana, Matthew Tabone.
NETHERLANDS: Jeroen Zoet, Ricardo van Thijn, Bart Schenkenveld, Imad Najah, Lorenzo Burnet, Rolieny Bonevacia (60′ Leandro Bacuna), Rajiv van La Parra, Steven Berghuis, Geoffrey Castillion (85′ Charlton Vicento), Jerson Cabral (76′ Lorenzo Ebecilio), Marten de Roon.
Referee: Adrian Mccourt (NIR)
In another match, the Czech Republic beat Cyprus 3-1.
Zbynek Musiol put the Czech Republic ahead on 56 minutes. Achilleas Vasiliou levelled matters on 75 minutes but three minutes later, Jiri Skalak restored the lead for the Czech Republic. Zbynek Musiol sealed the issue with another goal three minutes from time.