Malta remain among the minnows

From 1998 to the beginning of 2001, Malta played a total of 51 internationals, including FIFA World Cup qualifiers, UEFA European Championship qualifiers and friendly internationals. Of those games, they won six, drew four and lost 41. As such they remain among the small fry of European football.

Losing start 
Under the guidance of Yugoslav coach Josif Ilic, Malta opened their EURO 2000™ qualifying campaign with a 4-0 loss against Macedonia in Skopje – a result that set the tone for subsequent matches. Barely a month later came another heavy defeat as Ilic’s men went down 4-1 at home to Croatia, this despite taking a 27th-minute lead through a Hubert Suda penalty. Four days later, it got even worse, with a 5-0 defeat against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

Missed out on bonus 
For the next match, at home to FYR Macedonia in November 1998, the Maltese were promised a substantial bonus in reward for a positive result – yet still Malta went down, 2-1, and another home defeat followed three months later when Yugoslavia won 3-0 in the National Stadium at Ta’Qali. The return match was played four months later, in June 1999, in Thessalonika in Greece, due to the war in the Balkans at that time. Malta took a sixth-minute lead through the evergreen Nicky Saliba, but it proved short-lived, the Yugoslavians running out 4-1 winners.

Unlucky defeat 
Malta’s best performance of the campaign came in Zagreb two months later, where they went down to a narrow 2-1 defeat. After David Carabott had reduced the hosts’ two-goal lead, the Maltese were unlucky not to gain a point in the final stages of the game.

Morale boosted
Their morale boosted Ilic’s side then gave the Republic of Ireland a scare. Second-half goals from Brian Said and Carabott cancelled out a 2-0 half-time deficit but Malta’s hopes of a point were crushed by Steve Staunton’s winner for the Irish. Beaten 3-2, Malta finished bottom of Group Eight with no points and eight defeats to their name.

Centenary celebrations
There were echoes of that narrow defeat against the Irish in Malta’s friendly meeting with England just prior to EURO 2000™. The match – organized as part of the Malta Football Association’s centenary celebrations – finished 2-1 to England but only after England goalkeeper Richard Wright had saved David Carabott’s late penalty as Malta pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages. It was one of Malta’s most impressive performances of recent times, although under Ilic they recorded victories in friendly matches over Bosnia-Herzegovina (2-1), Lebanon (1-0), and Qatar (2-0).

Drew with Czechs 
So to their 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. Despite some positive performances, they finished bottom of Group Three, taking just one point from ten games – a goalless draw at home to the Czech Republic in October 2000.

Busuttil bows out 
That draw followed defeats in Northern Ireland and Bulgaria. Next came heavy losses at home to Denmark and Iceland – the latter, a 4-1 reverse in April 2001, marking the 113th and final international appearance of Carmel Busuttil. It was the last act in the career of ‘Busu’, a career that had spanned 20 years and included spells with Rabat Ajax FC, Verbania Calcio in Italy, Belgium’s KRC Genk and finally Sliema Wanderers FC. Busuttil bowed out with an honour, receiving the ‘Country state award’ for his contribution to Maltese sport.

Ilic exit 
Two months later Ilic left his post as coach following defeats in Iceland (3-0) and Denmark, the latter a narrow 2-1 reverse after Malta had led through George Malia’s opener; indeed only Ebbe Sand’s 83rd-minute winner denied the Maltese a point.

Greater discipline 
Former West Germany international Siegfried Held took over with his first aim to inject greater discipline into the squad. He was denied a draw in his first match by two late Bulgarian goals in Valletta and had to wait until after the World Cup qualifiers and a November 2001 friendly against Canada for his first success, 2-1 in Valletta.

Ten points adrift 
Before then, Malta produced a good showing in his second match in charge, going down 3-2 to the Czech Republic in Prague after twice equalizing through Carabott and Gilbert Agius. Yet a 1-0 home defeat by Northern Ireland in the final World Cup qualifier left the Maltese ten points adrift at the foot of their group, underlining the gap between the Mediterranean minnows and their rivals – and the size of the task facing Held.