Malta men’s team to face Slovakia, unnamed opponent in June friendlies

Malta will face Slovakia in an international friendly this June as part of their preparations for the upcoming UEFA Nations League campaign.

The match is scheduled for June 1 at the DAC Aréna in Dunajská Streda (kick-off: 6pm).

A second international friendly is also planned for June, with details yet to be confirmed.

These fixtures form part of a training camp for the national team, with head coach Emilio De Leo expected to use the opportunity to assess player form and further integrate members of the squad.

Malta is set to compete in League D Group 1 of the Nations League, where they will face Gibraltar and Andorra when the competition gets underway in September.

These friendlies will be key in fine-tuning preparations following a disappointing March window, in which Malta lost their League C promotion play-off against Luxembourg.

Slovakia, coached by Francesco Calzona, will provide a stern test. They are set to compete in League C Group 3 of the Nations League alongside Moldova, Kazakhstan and the Faroe Islands.

They finished second in their World Cup qualifying group before suffering a 4-3 defeat to Kosovo in the play-off semi-finals.

The two nations last met during the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign. On that occasion, Malta earned an impressive 2-2 draw away in Slovakia, having taken a two-goal lead, before suffering a heavy 6-0 defeat in the return match at the National Stadium in Ta’ Qali.