Malta missed out on the chance to secure promotion to League C of the UEFA Nations League after back-to-back defeats to Luxembourg who therefore retained their League C status with a 5-0 aggregate score.
In the first leg, a goal early in the second half and another one in added time handed Luxembourg a 2-0 win. Malta was unlucky to hit the upright and missed some clear chances apart from the fact that with a bit more of attention the goals could have been avoided. It was therefore soon an uphill task before the return match.
In Luxembourg, Ilyas Chouaref went close to putting Malta ahead early in the game but things soon got more complicated after conceding a goal. A second goal for Luxembourg and the dismissal of Joseph Mbong meant it was all over for Malta with the hosts adding a third goal late in the game after Irvin Cardona was unlucky not to reduce the gap.
Speaking after the second leg at the Stade de Luxembourg, Malta coach Emilio De Leo said “We were, in my opinion, good. First of all, one has to admit that if we lost in both matches, we didn’t deserve to advance. They were definitely better than us. I don’t want to talk about excuses. I think we weren’t good at taking advantage of the incidents. And when they had the chance, they were very effective. Because I think that maybe even in the first half, it was clear that it was a peculiar match for us, because we had to try to turn it around somehow. “
“In the first half, I think we started strong, we got off to a good start. We could have taken the lead, and it certainly would have been the momentum behind the game. Instead, we weren’t good at breaking the deadlock. On the other hand, they were good at taking the first chance and winning. We didn’t make the most of the moments in both matches, and I think they were definitely better than us. The truth is that in the first match we perhaps had more of a chance than today. “
Photos courtesy of Malta FA
De Leo added “I think we played a good first half. We had a sending-off after ten-fifteen minutes of the second half. We were down, we needed to recover, and it’s clear that it was a different kind of match. This is an objective fact, in my opinion, that needs to be said and emphasized. “
“I don’t think there was any lack of attention to detail in the first half. We definitely should have been careful when they scored, but I think the boys did it in the first half with focus, attitude, the right approach, and also, in my opinion, attention to detail. Then, in the second half, we probably paid the price for the need to turn things around, the need to somehow push ourselves.
“I never want to talk about alibis and excuses. Clearly, we haven’t ironed out the details yet, and this double-header is part of the journey we must continue to take. We probably weren’t ready to make the leap in quality yet; we’ll do it, or clearly try to do it, in the (UEFA Nations League D1) qualifying matches, as we did in some way in the World Cup qualifying round,” concluded De Leo.
Therefore focus now turns on League D1 which will be played between September and November.
Malta plays the first match against Andorra on Thursday 24 September away from home and a week later, on Thursday October 1, Malta hosts Gibraltar. Three days later, Malta hosts Andorra. Malta will then play the last game away from home to Gibraltar.
Malta and Andorra met six times. Following a 1-1 draw in the Rothmans Tournament in February 2000, Malta hosted Andorra in a friendly match in March 2002, also ending in a 1-1 draw. In the UEFA Nations League 2020-2021, Malta obtained a point in a goalless draw away from home, winning 3-1 at Ta’ Qali. On the other hand, in the last UEFA Nations League campaign, Malta won 1-0 in Andorra la Vella but was held in a goalless draw at Ta’ Qali.
On the other hand, Malta and Gibraltar only met three times in friendly matches. Malta lost the first match 1-0 in June 2014 in Faro, Portugal – Gibraltar’s first win in an international match but then Malta won 2-0 in October 2020 and 1-0 in September 2023 on home soil.
In view of these matches, Malta should be laying two friendly matches towards the first week of June while other friendly matches should be played between September 27 and 28 and between November 12 and 14.