TA’QALI. Slovenia beats Malta 4-0 after a incredible match. J. Ilicic (27′), A. Sporar (49′), J. Ilicic (60′) and B. Sesko (67′).
The match was played at the Ta’Qali National Stadium stadium in Ta’Qali on Friday and it started at 6:45 pm local time. The referee was Anastasios Sidiropoulos who had the assistance of Polychronis Kostaras and Lazaros Dimitriadis. The 4th official was Anastasios Papapetrou.
Match Statistics
Slovenia was in firm control of the ball 55% while Malta was struggling with a 45% ball possession.
Slovenia was more aggressive with 41 dangerous attacks and 20 shots of which 5 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Slovenia won the match.
Malta shot 5 times, 1 on target, 4 off target. On the other side, Slovenia shot 20 times, 5 on target, 15 off target.
Cards
Malta received 2 yellow cards (A. Satariano and J. Mbong). On the other side, Slovenia didn’t receive any yellow card.
Match Timeline
Standings
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Group I
Group J
After this encounter, Malta will stay with 4 points like Cyprus to stay in the 5th place. On the opposite side, Slovenia will have 10 points to stay in the 3rd place.
Next matches
In the next match in the WC Qualification Europe, Malta will play away with Cyprus on the 11th of October with a 1-0 head to head in favor of Malta (0 draws).
Slovenia will host Russia on the 11th of October with a 2-1 head to head statistic in favor of Russia (0 draws).
Malta – Formation

Malta started with an extremely aggressive line-up (3-4-3).
The manager Devis Mangia decided to play with the following team: Henry Bonello
, Kurt Shaw , Enrico Pepe , Zach Muscat , Joseph Mbong , Stephen Pisani , Teddy Teuma , Cain Attard , Shaun Dimech , Luke Montebello and Paul Mbong .The home team had on the bench: Alexander Satariano
, Adam Magri Overend , Steve Borg, Karl Micallef, Matthew Grech, Jake Grech, Jurgen Degabriele , Samir Arab, Dunstan Vella, Tristan Caruana , Luke Gambin and Jake Galea.Substitutions
Malta made 5 changes: P. Mbong for A. Satariano (57′), S. Dimech for L. Gambin (57′), J. Mbong for A. M. Overend (68′), S. Pisani for T. Caruana (68′) and L. Montebello for J. Degabriele (80′).
Best player: Teddy Teuma
The player that probably impressed the most for Malta was Teddy Teuma.
His rating is
with 68 passes (82% accurate) and 2 key passes. He was won 3 duels out of 7. He performed 4 crosses.Slovenia – Formation

Slovenia started with a 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).
On the opposite side, Matjaž Kek played with: Jan Oblak
, Žan Karničnik , Jaka Bijol , Miha Mevlja , Jure Balkovec , Adam Gnezda Čerin , Jasmin Kurtić , Josip Iličić , Sandi Lovrić , Benjamin Verbič and Andraž Šporar .They had on the bench: Miha Blažič, Leo Štulac, Benjamin Šeško
, Timi Max Elšnik , Luka Zahović , Žan Kolmanič, Žan Rogelj, Domen Črnigoj , Igor Vekić, David Tijanič, Vid Belec and Jon Gorenc Stanković .Substitutions
Slovenia made 5 changes: B. Verbic for D. Crnigoj (61′), A. Sporar for B. Sesko (61′), S. Lovric for J. Gorenc Stankovic (71′), J. Ilicic for L. Zahovic (72′) and J. Kurtic for T. Elsnik (82′).
Best player: Sandi Lovrić
The player that probably impressed the most for Slovenia was Sandi Lovrić even if he didn’t score any goal.
His rating is
with 27 passes (81% accurate) and 4 key passes. He was won 5 duels out of 5. He performed 2 crosses.Results of the day
These are the results of the day in the WC Qualification Europe.
- Liechtenstein – North Macedonia – 0-4
- Iceland – Armenia – 1-1
- Germany – Romania – 2-1
- Russia – Slovakia – 1-0
- Malta – Slovenia – 0-4
- Cyprus – Croatia – 0-3
- Turkey – Norway – 1-1
- Gibraltar – Montenegro – 0-3
- Latvia – Netherlands – 0-1
- Estonia – Belarus – 2-0
- Czech Republic – Wales – 2-2