Malta will be facing Moldova and Andorra in Group D2 of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League in its bid for a historic promotion to League C as the draw was held at La Maison de la Mutualité in Paris on Thursday.
With Russia being suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions, 54 teams will be taking part in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League with sixteen teams in each of Leagues A, B and C and the remaining six in League D.
Group D1: loser of Lithuania/Gibraltar play-out, San Marino, Liechtenstein
Group D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra
Group winners are automatically promoted to League C while the two runners-up from League D will face the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams in play-offs.
Malta and Moldova met eight times. Moldova won 2-0 in a friendly match at Ta’ Qali in March 1999 and then once again 1-0 on home soil in August 2000. The two teams met three times in the Rothmans/Malta International Tournament with Malta winning 3-0 in February 2002, the two teams sharing the spoils in a goalless draw in 2004 and Moldova winning 2-0 in 2006. In the EURO 2008 qualifiers, Malta held Moldova in a 1-1 draw away from home in March 2007 but in October 2007, Moldova registered a 3-2 win at Ta’ Qali. In a friendly match in March 2016, the two teams drew 0-0.
Moldova are currently ranked 155th. They placed on level points with group winners Latvia in the UEFA Nations League 2022/23 Group D1 but had to settle for second place due to an inferior goal-difference in direct encounters.
In the EURO 2024 qualifiers, Moldova placed fourth in Group E behind Albania, Czechia and Poland and ahead of the Faroe Islands, collected no less than ten points thanks to wins over Poland at home and the Faroe Islands away from home and draws with Albania, Czechia and Faroe Islands at home and Poland away from home.
Malta and Andorra met four times. Malta hosted Andorra in the Rothmans Tournament in February 2000, the game ending 1-1. There was another 1-1 draw in a friendly match in March 2002. In October 2020, Malta earned a point in a goalless draw away from home in the UEFA Nations League and a month later, Malta registered a 3-1 win.
Andorra are currently ranked 164th. They placed third in Group D1 of the UEFA Nations League 2022/23, behind Latvia and Moldova and ahead of Liechtenstein. They defeated Liechtenstein twice and earned points in draws with Latvia and Moldova at home.
In the EURO 2024 qualifiers, Andorra finished last in Group I in a group which included Romania, Switzerland, Israel, Belarus and Kosovo, earning two points in draws with Belarus at home and Kosovo away from home.
Matches will be played as follows:
| Matchday 1 | 5-7 September 2024 |
| Matchday 2 | 8-10 September 2024 |
| Matchday 3 | 10-12 October 2024 |
| Matchday 4 | 13-15 October 2024 |
| Matchday 5 | 14-16 November 2024 |
| Matchday 6 | 17-19 November 2024 |
Group winners are automatically promoted to League C while the two runners-up from League D will face the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams in play-offs.
Since teams in League D will be playing four matches instead of six, they will play two friendly matches on the dates that remain free of competition matches. Fixtures for these friendly matches will be confirmed on May 7.
This will be the fourth edition of the UEFA Nations League with Malta still chasing a historic promotion to League C.
Malta placed fourth in Group D3 in the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League in 2018, finishing behind Kosovo, Azerbaijan and the Faroe Islands and collecting three points in two draws with Azerbaijan and another with the Faroe Islands at home.
In the 2020 edition, Malta placed second three points behind the Faroe Islands and ahead of Latvia and Andorra, collecting a draw with Latvia at home and Andorra away from home, a win over Latvia away from home, a home win over Andorra and a draw with the Faroe Islands at home.
In the last edition, held in 2022, Malta was drawn in a group of three teams with Estonia and San Marino. Malta opened its account with a 2-0 win over San Marino away from home but lost 1-2 at Ta’ Qali to Estonia, defeated San Marino 1-0 at home but suffered another 2-1 defeat to Estonia in Tallinn to finish second.
Meanwhile the UEFA Nations League has been expanded with a new knockout round to be played in March 2025, thereby creating continuity between the league phase ending in November and the finals played in June.
The League A group winners and runners-up will participate in home-and-away quarter-finals, with the winners of these ties qualifying for the final tournament.
The fourth-placed teams in Leagues A and B are automatically relegated to League B and C respectively. The two lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams in League C, meanwhile, are relegated to League D.
The four group winners in Leagues B and C, as well as the two group winners in League D, are automatically promoted to Leagues A, B and C respectively.
The third-ranked teams of League A and the runners-up of League B, as well as the third-ranked teams of League B and the runners-up of League C, will play a home-and-away promotion/relegation play-off. There will also be play-offs between the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams from League C and the two runners-up from League D.
League A
Group A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland
Group A2: Italy, Belgium, France, Israel
Group A3: Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia
League B
Group B1: Czechia, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia
Group B2: England, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Greece
Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan
Group B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Turkiye
League C
Group C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia
Group C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania/Gibraltar
Group C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Belarus
Group C4: Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia
League D
Group D1: Lithuania/Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein
Group D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra
