Futsal World Cup qualifiers: Malta holds Cyprus in 2-2 draw

Malta ended its commitments in Group B of the Preliminary Round of the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifiers on a positive note, holding Cyprus in a 2-2 draw at the Utleirahallen in Trondheim, Norway on Saturday.

It was a great performance by the Maltese against a strong side, considering that Cyprus had defeated Norway 3-2 on Wednesday, holding Denmark in a 2-2 draw on Thursday. Malta, on the other hand, had lost 0-8 to Denmark and 1-9 to Norway in the previous two matches.

Costas Kouloumbris put Cyprus ahead but early in the second half, Karl Sciortino equalised. Malta was quick to forge ahead through Giancarlo Sammut but Panayiotis Skarparis levelled matters for Cyprus.

Photo courtesy of Malta FA

MALTA Clint Mifsud, Dylan Musu, Matthew Attard, Giancarlo Sammut, Mark Zammit.
Subs: Stefan Vella, Dylan Cacciattolo, Karl Sciortino, Dale Valletta, George Frendo, Melvin Borg, Ryan Muscat, Luke Gatt, Cleaven Portelli.

CYPRUS Tasos Skampylis, Neophytos Lakoufis, Savvas Omirou, Taha El Kebbe, Alexis Tsitsos.
Subs: Paraskevas Psilogenis, Nikos Chadjigeorgiou, Nikolas Skoratous, Costas Kouloumbris, Panayiotis Skarparis, Giorgos Krekos, Cesar Diniz Pereira, Carlo Genjellan, Gevara Kanjo.