First meets last in Friday's Euro 2024 qualifying Group C battle in Ta' Qali, as minnows Malta welcome England to the National Stadium.

The hosts sit rock bottom of the section with two defeats next to their name so far, while Gareth Southgate's charges lead the way on the back of successive wins over Italy and Ukraine in March.

Match preview

Off the back of another failed venture to leave the doldrums of League D in the UEFA Nations League behind, Malta's bid to qualify for a maiden major tournament has started according to the script, with Michele Marcolini's men quickly assuming position at the bottom of the section.

Now ranked 172nd in the world, Malta went down 2-1 to North Macedonia on the opening matchday before taking on the seemingly impossible task of besting reigning champions Italy, who scored two first-half goals at the National Stadium through Mateo Retegui and Matteo Pessina to run out comfortable 2-0 winners.

With Ukraine also lying in wait for Marcolini's charges on Monday, few will back the Falcons to upset the Group C apple cart and earn their tickets to a first-ever Euros finals, but Malta did at least end a three-game losing streak in last week's friendly with Luxembourg, who succumbed to a Kyrian Nwoko header in the second half.

Overcoming a team sitting 81 places higher than them in the FIFA world rankings should lead to a renewed sense of optimism within the Malta camp, but the hosts have just one clean sheet to show from their last seven home games, and even that came against perennial whipping boys San Marino.

Furthermore, Malta have suffered 11 successive defeats in Euro qualifying since beating the Faroe Islands 2-1 in March 2019 - scoring a paltry two goals in that sequence - and keeping the scoreline respectable should be priority number one on Friday.

As Malta quickly learned, beating the current European champions is not for everyone, but England avenged their painful penalty heartbreak to the Azzurri on a record-breaking night for Harry Kane, who officially became the greatest goalscorer his country had ever seen on March 23.

Three days after the Three Lions saw out a 2-1 triumph over Italy, Gareth Southgate's men returned to their Wembley headquarters for the first time since before the World Cup, where a scintillating display from Bukayo Saka did the damage against Ukraine; the Arsenal man set up Kane's 55th goal for the national team before curling home a delightful second not long after.

Sitting pretty at the top of Group C and three points better off than Italy and North Macedonia - who they tackle on matchday four - the Three Lions have more than one point to prove in the wake of another World Cup quarter-final elimination and humbling Nations League relegation, but the journey to redemption has started brightly.

The Three Lions travel to Malta having claimed 19 wins from their last 20 European Championship qualifying games - the aberration being a 2-1 loss away to the Czech Republic in October 2019 - and not since a goalless draw with Montenegro in 2010 have England failed to score at this stage.

It therefore should not come as a shock to learn that England have won all five of their previous meetings with Malta by an aggregate scoreline of 14-1, and the hosts' only goal against the Three Lions came via a penalty which deflected off the head of Richard Wright and into the back of the net in a 2000 friendly.

Team News

Malta have lost uncapped goalkeeper Cain Formosa since the showdown with Luxembourg, but the 22-year-old was only on the bench for that triumph, and Marcolini will otherwise be working with the same group from that hard-fought triumph.

However, one notable injury absentee is Teddy Teuma, who registered 12 assists for Union SG in the Belgian top flight last term, as the 29-year-old picked up a foot injury in domestic action, leaving Malta with only two foreign-based players in their ranks for Friday.

Notts County attacker Jodi Jones is still awaiting his first goal for the national team but could be given the nod in the final third, while Farense's Zach Muscat is a surefire starter at the back.

Meanwhile, the customary England pre-game withdrawals saw Jude Bellingham and Lewis Dunk both pull out of the squad, joining a plethora of well-known absentees such as Mason Mount, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling and the suspended Ivan Toney.

Southgate is also anticipating the arrivals of Champions League-winning quintet Kalvin Phillips, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker, but it is hard to envisage any of the Manchester City crop being passed fit to start on Friday amid their unrestrained celebrations.

Just the one uncapped player in Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze has reported for duty at St George's Park, and with Southgate potentially keeping some big-hitters in reserve for the North Macedonia contest, the 24-year-old should feel confident of earning his senior debut, albeit maybe not from the first whistle.

Malta possible starting lineup:
Bonello; Muscat, Apap, Borg; Mbong, Grech, Guillaumier, Yankam, Camenzuli; Jones, Nwoko

England possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Trippier, Guehi, Maguire, Shaw; Gallagher, Rice, Henderson; Saka, Kane, Rashford

We say: Malta 0-5 England

Luxembourg may have fallen short against Malta's defence-heavy setup last week, and England will be far from full strength due to injuries and European fatigue, but such factors will no doubt pale into insignificance on Friday.

Even if Southgate puts out a slightly altered XI, it should only be a case of how many goals England can amass, and we can envisage the Three Lions producing a five-star display to maintain their grip on first place.


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