Mistrovství světa - kvalifikace FIFA - Mistrovství světa - kvalifikace 2026

Maltese sweetener turns sour at the death Tamhas Woods, 04.09.2025 20:08 A late equaliser saw Malta denied just a fourth win in 117 FIFA World Cup (WC) qualifiers, as Lithuania rescued a point that did neither side’s remote chances of qualification any favours. The early stages might have flowed differently, had Gvidas Gineitis’ second-minute shot from the middle of the area not been saved by Henry Bonello, but the first half went exactly as one would expect between two sides with virtually no chance of reaching the WC finals. In an opening 45’ that was memorable more for petty fouls and few chances, Alexander Satariano was the first of six men to go into the notebook in the 12th minute. Gineitis would try his luck again just after the half-hour mark, but once more found himself frustrated, as the hosts - aiming to avoid a fifth blank in six outings - looked to step up their efforts. As for the goalless-in-five Malta, their best chance of the first half fell to Paul Mbong, whose ambitious long-range shot, which came at the end of a ball from Ilyas Chouaref, was kept out of the bottom-right corner only by the quick thinking of Edvinas Gertmonas. Early in the second half, Eligijus Jankauskas' missed header from the centre of the box via the energetic Gineitis' cross marked a continuation of the hosts’ frustrations. And those frustrations only grew as Malta not only continued to hold their own going into the final 20 minutes, but also crafted a couple of chances, with Zach Muscat and Satariano both seeing efforts blocked. The opportunity for Malta to register an unlikely triumph was beckoning, and they finally struck gold in the 82nd minute, when a counter-attack saw substitute Adam Magri Overend whip in a low cross that Satariano converted at close range to seal a performance of tireless endeavour. Lithuania appeared to have no answer to what was Malta’s first goal of the entire qualification cycle, but at the death, the hosts levelled the game from the spot as Gineitis dispatched a penalty. A red card apiece dished out either side of that equaliser saw both sides finish with 10 men, with substitute Jake Azzopardi dismissed for a straight red for Malta, before Lithuania’s Edgaras Utkus received a second yellow. That late blow denies Malta a first win of a qualification campaign that is destined to end with a predictable failure to qualify, as they prop up the group on two points, accompanied by an also winless Lithuania, a point further ahead.