Malta lost 0-3 to England in its first outing on Group A of the UEFA Under-17 Championship at the National Stadium.
As expected, the visitors made their intentions clear right from the start, being a constant threat for the Maltese rear-guard especially with Patrick Roberts who scored two of the goals and was the provider for the other.
England managed to take the lead on the 15th minute as Patrick Roberts pulled to the centre and with a low long-distance shot beat goalkeeper Jamie Azzopardi.
Nine minutes later, England doubled the score through a low strike by Adam Armstrong after receiving an assist by Patrick Roberts from the right.
Seven minutes in the second half, England score the third goal. It was Patrick Roberts once again whose swerving shot from the right gave Azzopardi no chance.
On Monday, Malta will be facing the Netherlands at 15:15 while England faces Turkey at 11:15. Both matches will be played at the Gozo Stadium.
MALTA Jamie Azzopardi, Daniel Buckle, Jean Borg, Nick Ghio (73′ Iousef Meli), Christian Degabriele, Matthew Guillaumier, Jake Grech (73′ Juan Carlos Corbalan), Conor Borg, Aidan Jake Friggieri, Kyrian Nwoko, Joseph Mbong (41′ Myles Beerman).
Coach: Sergio SoldanoENGLAND Fredrick Woodman, Jonjoe Kenny, Tafari Moore, Joseph Gomez, Dael Fry, Ryan Ledson, Joshua Onomah (69′ Lewis Cook), Joshua Sims, Adam Armstrong, Dominic Solanke (59′ Callum Cooke), Patrick Roberts (50′ Demetri Mitchell).
Coach: John PeacockReferee: Aleksandrs Anufrijevs (LTV)
Attendance: 7,015