Malta drawn in Group G along with with the loser of Spain/Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Lithuania as the draw of the European Qualifiers leading to the FIFA World Cup 26 was held on Friday.

The UEFA qualifying group stage will begin in March 2025 and conclude in November 2025. It will follow a familiar format, with 12 groups of four or five teams, and the group winners securing a place at the FIFA World Cup. The four remaining places will then be decided in March 2026 in a 16-team UEFA play-off involving the 12 group-stage runners-up and the four best-ranked UEFA Nations League 2024-25 group winners that have neither qualified directly for the FIFA World Cup as group winners nor entered the play-offs already as group runners-up.

Malta met Finland eight times, winning once and earning a goalless draw in the Malta International Tournament in 1988 and 1989 respectively. In the only two competitive matches in the EURO 92 qualifiers, Malta earned a point in a 1-1 draw at Ta’ Qali, losing 0-2 away from home. Since then Malta played four friendly matches against Finland, losng the four of them.

Malta and Lithuania met five times. Following a 1-1 draw in the Malta International Tournament in 2002, Malta lost 1-4 in a friendly match at the Hibernians Stadium in 2006. Malta then registered a 2-0 win in a friendly match in 2015. Since then Malta played Lithuania twice in the World Cup 2018 qualifiers, losing 2-0 away from home, earning a point in a 1-1 draw at Ta’ Qali.

Malta and Poland met four times. In the World Cup 82 qualifiers, Poland won 2-0 at The Stadium and 6-0 at home. The two teams then met in two friendly matches at Ta’ Qali with Poland winning 1-0 in 1999 and 4-0 in 2003.

Meanwhile the record against both Netherlands and Spain is a negative one. Malta lost six times in EURO qualifiers agains the Netherlands including the 0-8 defeat in 1990 while against Spain, Malta lost eight times, including the 12-1 defeat in Seville in 1984 and the 7-0 defeat in Cadiz in 2019.

World Cup qualifying draw 

Group A: Germany/Italy winners, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg

Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo

Group C: Portugal/Denmark losers, Greece, Scotland, Belarus

Group D: France/Croatia winners, Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan

Group E: Spain/Netherlands winners, Türkiye, Georgia, Bulgaria

Group F: Portugal/Denmark winners, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia

Group G: Spain/Netherlands losers, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta

Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino

Group I: Germany/Italy losers, Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova

Group J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein

Group K: England, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra

Group L: France/Croatia losers, Czechia, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar