A brave Malta side wrapped up its 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with a bold performance against a frequent Euro and World Cup participant side in Poland, falling narrowly in a 3-2 defeat.
The display was an excellent follow-up to Malta’s shock victory in Helsinki, a result that stunned European football.
Under coach Emilio De Leo, Malta finished fourth in a five-team group – the first time the national team has avoided bottom spot in a World Cup qualifying group since the 1994 campaign.
Their tally of five points equals the national team’s best return in a senior men’s qualifying group, matching the totals achieved in the Euro 2008 and World Cup 2022 qualifiers.
Malta coach De Leo could not hide his pride at his team’s performance.
“I agree that this was our best performance in the World qualifying group,” coach De Leo said.
“It was not easy after just three days from our fantastic victory over Finland, to recharge our batteries and motivate ourselves to perform at such a high level.
“We were up against a team that has great technical quality and is full of experienced players, so it was a major challenge for us.
“But this result shows that our team is working well. We showed that we have our own identity of play, good quality of play, and they don’t fear to face opponents of the highest quality, such as Poland… and that is my biggest satisfaction.”
De Leo was delighted with the character shown by the team on Monday as they managed to come back from two goals down twice, although they ended up losing the match due to Zielinski’s deflected strike.
“The players showed remarkable character today against a quality side,” De Leo said.
“I am really proud of the work carried out by everyone involved. Our biggest strength is the group, as every player gives his contribution when they are called to… look at Jake Grech against Finland and tonight Gabriel Mentz, who was immense in defence.
“We need to remember that we are still at the start of this project and our goal is to continue to show signs of improvement. There is still a lot of work to do…. we need to improve how we administer certain moments of the game, when to push hard, when to calm things down… be more intelligent.
“There is a solid base to continue working on.”
Among Malta’s standout performers was goalkeeper Henry Bonello, who is aging like fine wine. His outstanding form has been evident not only with the national team but also with Ħamrun Spartans, particularly during their UEFA Conference League run.
“I’m disappointed with the defeat because we could have gained something from this match. I believe we had more chances than Poland throughout the game. Nonetheless, it was a performance that reflected our improvement and will bode well for the future,” Bonello told the Times of Malta.
Back in October, Malta faced criticism after a dip in form, especially following a 4-1 home defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina in an international friendly. However, the team bounced back strongly during the November window.
“Compared with the Bosnia-Herzegovina friendly, I think we played well in both matches, but against Poland we capitalised on our chances – that was the main difference,” Bonello added.
Reflecting on the team’s progress under De Leo in his first qualifying cycle, Bonello said: “Our improvement under this coach is clear. Not finishing last is already a big achievement for Maltese football. Against a team like Poland, we produced a very proactive display.”
All attention now turns to the March play-off against Luxembourg, a crucial moment for Maltese football as the team seeks its first-ever promotion to League C of the UEFA Nations League.
Luxembourg, who failed to collect a point in their World Cup qualifying group featuring Germany, Slovakia and Northern Ireland, have nonetheless made significant progress in recent years and currently sit 97th in the FIFA rankings.
“Now we face Luxembourg in March’s play-offs, and obviously these performances give us more courage,” Bonello concluded.
This cycle also saw several new faces introduced to the national team setup, including France-born forward Irvin Cardona, who pledge his alliance to Malta after a long pursuit by the MFA. The Saint-Étienne striker has already scored twice for Malta – against San Marino and Poland.
“We played a good game, showed character, and kept fighting to score more goals. I think the fans are happy with us after this performance. We showed we can be competitive, and this bodes well for the March game against Luxembourg,” Cardona said.
“I’m very happy to be part of this team. It’s a united group, and everyone sticks together – that helps us grow.”
