Malta face Russia, Slovakia, and Croatia in opening World Cup qualifiers

Malta was handed a tough start to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers as the national team will face Russia, Slovakia and Croatia in their opening three fixtures from Group H.

UEFA published the list of fixtures for the ten qualifying groups on Tuesday after the draw was held in a virtual event in Zurich on Monday.

Malta were drawn in a tough-looking Group H alongside Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia and Cyprus.

Devis Mangia’s team will open their commitments with a triple-header that gets underway on March 24 when they host Russia at the National Stadium.

On March 27, Malta will be away to Slovakia and three days later they will head for another tough test when they play in Croatia.

Malta’s best hopes of picking up points will be on September 1 when they host Cyprus at the National Stadium.

After this match they have another away double-header against Slovenia (September 4) and Russia (September 7).

The remaining matches from the group will be played in October and November when the team face two fixtures each month.

In October they face Slovenia at home and travel to Cyprus while the following month they complete their group commitments wtih two home matches against Croatia and Slovakia.

PROGRAMME

March 24

Malta vs Russia 20.45

March 27

Slovakia vs Malta            20.45

March 30

Croatia vs Malta              20.45

September 1

Malta vs Cyprus 20.45

September 4

Slovenia vs Malta            18.00

September 7

Russia vs Malta 20.45

October 8

Malta vs Slovenia            20.45

October 11

Cyprus vs Malta               20.45

November 11

Malta vs Croatia              20.45

November 14

Malta vs Slovakia 15.00