The head to head against Malta arrives

Gibraltar this Thursday evening takes on Malta, described by many as the firm favourites to win the group and head for automatic promotion to League C.
Malta already have three points to their name after their first match, an away encounter against Andorra which saw them come back from 1-0 down to beat Andorra on their own turf.
Another win this evening would see Malta just fingertips away from automatic promotion, needing only a solitary point from their remaining match to secure top place. Although seven points might not necessarily be enough to guarantee automatic promotion, as both Andorra and Gibraltar can still reach seven points.
This will certainly not be the last time Gibraltar are drawn in the same group as Malta. The way the Nations League has been structured means there will be more occasions when the two meet, unless one of the two suddenly lifts its game and races ahead into League B.

So, who are Malta?

Many Gibraltarian football fans, particularly the older ones, will recall that famous 12-1 defeat of Malta at the hands of Spain. A result that surprised many, not because a heavy defeat was not expected, but because the number of goals scored was significant in determining whether Spain would qualify.
Malta has since gone a long way towards putting that terrible night behind them. However, one thing they have not shrugged off is the label of being a team against whom the big boys expect to win, and where anything less can be considered a defeat.
Since Gibraltar’s entry into UEFA, Malta have been seen as a side Gibraltar should be able to compete against and even get a win against.
Of course, with this belief in place, defeats have been hard to swallow when they have arrived.
Many will look at recent results between Gibraltar domestic clubs and Maltese clubs in European competitions. Whilst this might be an indicator of the level of football that exists within their respective associations, it is not a clear or accurate indicator of where the two nations stand on the international scene. Certainly, it is not an indicator of home-grown player development within the two associations, which makes up the national selections.
However, both nations have common denominators which see them very much on par at international level.
Malta has a long history, Gibraltar only just over a decade to show for its efforts.
Going into the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League, Gibraltar and Malta had met only three times. The Nations League now provides the first competitive meetings between the two sides, with the previous three occasions having been international friendly matches where nothing except pride was at stake.
Overall, Gibraltar have won one of the three matches, that victory being Gibraltar’s first-ever win as a UEFA member back in 2014.
Since then Gibraltar have failed to score, losing 2-0 in 2020 and then 1-0 in 2023.
There are also some interesting contrasts when comparing the record of both sides since Gibraltar’s entry into UEFA. Both have played against similar opposition, such as Liechtenstein and San Marino, where both sides have generally achieved positive results, while Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Andorra give a better indication of how the two teams have performed against opposition nearer their own level.
Interestingly, looking back to a period from 2018 to the present day, both Gibraltar and Malta are unbeaten against Andorra. Malta have three wins and two draws with no defeats, whilst Gibraltar have two wins and two draws with no defeats during the same period.
When viewing results against teams such as Latvia, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Armenia, Malta have a slight edge over Gibraltar, although there is little between the two in several of these comparisons.
It highlights how Gibraltar are facing a comparably strong side when they face Malta.
Malta, however, have shown greater consistency against sides such as Latvia and Armenia, whilst Gibraltar, although winning against both on at least one occasion, have also suffered defeats such as the 6-2 loss against Armenia and the more recent play-off defeats which saw Gibraltar’s promotion hopes shattered.
Similarly to Gibraltar, Malta have undergone changes at the helm in recent years. Their present coach, Emilio De Leo, was appointed in 2025 and has since had his contract extended.
The changes at the helm have seen De Leo make personnel changes whilst maintaining a mixture of established players.

Last March, De Leo retained nine foreign-based players, described by the MFA at the time as the highest number ever selected for Malta. New players included James Carragher, Ilyas Chouaref, Jake Azzopardi, Mattia Veselji and goalkeeper James Sissons.
The Times of Malta also reported that De Leo had selected established players alongside a “host of up-and-coming youngsters and newcomers”, including players from Malta’s second tier. Five Under-21 players were included in the provisional group.
De Leo was also to name a 34-man provisional squad for Slovakia and Azerbaijan this past June, which included first-time senior call-ups for Luke Borg and Nicholas Agius, while Italy-based defender Kevin Cannavò was brought in as another player being considered for the future.
The MFA at the time indicated that De Leo was evaluating his squad ahead of the Nations League campaign. The Malta head coach added further youngsters to his squad for his campaign, with 16-year-old Jayden Roe also receiving a call-up.
However, the transitional changes Malta have undergone have maintained a mix with already established players. Malta can be described as having a more settled team, with De Leo describing his side as having greater depth from which to rotate players without abandoning the team’s developing identity.
This is very much a direct parallel to Gibraltar’s current transitional period, although Wiseman was to start the new phase at a later date. His permanent contract was only agreed this summer, with Gibraltar currently going through what has been a complete transition, with many young faces now entering the fold and gaining international caps.
Gibraltar’s match against Malta will not only be crucial for Gibraltar’s chances of promotion to League C, but could also provide an indication of where the present progress lies.

Gibraltar v Malta H2H
1. Gibraltar 1–0 Malta

4 June 2014 — Estádio Algarve, Faro

This was Gibraltar’s first-ever victory as a UEFA member. Kyle Casciaro scored the only goal in the 64th minute. The match was played in Portugal because Gibraltar was using the Estádio Algarve as its home venue around that period.

2. Malta 2–0 Gibraltar

7 October 2020 — National Stadium, Ta’ Qali

Gibraltar’s first defeat against Malta. Malta won 2–0, with Kyrian Nwoko and Triston Caruana scoring. The match was a friendly played during the international window affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Malta 1–0 Gibraltar

6 September 2023 — National Stadium, Ta’ Qali

Joseph Mbong scored in the 58th minute to give Malta a 1–0 victory. Malta’s Football Association described the match as an international A friendly.

Overall record

Gibraltar: 1 win, 0 draws, 2 defeats
Goals: Gibraltar 1–3 Malta

So, going into the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League, Gibraltar and Malta have met only three times. The Nations League now provides the first competitive meetings between the two sides: Malta v Gibraltar on 1 October 2026 and Gibraltar v Malta on 16 November 2026.

The Comparisons...
Andorra

This is the most obvious one because both have played them recently.

Gibraltar: 2 wins, 2 draws, no defeats, 2-0 overall.
Malta: 3 wins, 2 draws, no defeats, 6-2 overall.
Gibraltar’s latest: Gibraltar 0-0 Andorra, 27 September 2026.
Malta’s latest: Andorra 1-2 Malta, 24 September 2026.
So both are unbeaten against Andorra in this period, although Malta has scored considerably more.

Liechtenstein

Another particularly useful comparison:

Gibraltar: 3W 3D 1L, 8-6.
Malta: 2W 0D 0L, 5-0.
Gibraltar’s seven matches give a larger sample, including the 2024 Nations League meetings, whereas Malta’s two most recent meetings were both wins.

San Marino

Both have been very successful against San Marino:

Gibraltar: 2W 2D 0L, 3-1.
Malta: 3W 0D 0L, 6-1.
That is quite a useful comparison because the matches are relatively recent and include Nations League fixtures. Gibraltar’s 2024 meetings were a 1-0 win and a 1-1 draw; Malta beat San Marino 2-0, 1-0 and 3-1 between 2022 and 2025.

Latvia

This is an interesting contrast:

Gibraltar: 1W 0D 4L, 3-8.
Malta: 1W 1D 0L, 2-1.
Gibraltar’s two most recent meetings with Latvia, in March 2026, were both 1-0 defeats.

Armenia

Gibraltar: 1W 0D 1L, 3-6.
Malta: 0W 1D 0L, 1-1.
Gibraltar actually has a win against Armenia — the 1-0 Nations League victory in Yerevan in 2018 — but also suffered the 6-2 defeat in the return match. Malta drew 1-1 with Armenia in 2018.

Lithuania

This is another fairly clean comparison:

Gibraltar: 0W 0D 2L, 0-2.
Malta: 0W 2D 0L, 1-1.
Both of Gibraltar’s matches were 1-0 defeats in March 2024. Malta drew 0-0 with Lithuania in June 2025 and 1-1 in September 2025.

COMMON OPPONENTS, 2018–2026
ANDORRA

Gibraltar: 0-0, 1-0, 1-0, 0-0
Record: 2W 2D 0L — 2-0

Malta: 0-0, 3-1, 1-0, 0-0, 2-1
Record: 3W 2D 0L — 6-2

ARMENIA

Gibraltar: 1-0, 2-6
Record: 1W 0D 1L — 3-6

Malta: 1-1
Record: 0W 1D 0L — 1-1

CROATIA

Gibraltar: 0-7, 0-3
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 0-10

Malta: 0-3, 1-7
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 1-10

CZECHIA

Gibraltar: 0-4, 0-6
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 0-10

Malta: 1-7
Record: 0W 0D 1L — 1-7

ESTONIA

Gibraltar: 0-1
Record: 0W 0D 1L — 0-1

Malta: 1-2, 1-2
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 2-4
FAROE ISLANDS

Gibraltar: 0-0, 1-2, 0-1
Record: 0W 1D 2L — 1-3

Malta: 1-3, 1-1, 2-1, 0-1, 2-3, 1-1
Record: 1W 2D 3L — 7-10

GEORGIA

Gibraltar: 0-3, 2-3, 0-4, 1-2
Record: 0W 0D 4L — 3-12

Malta: 0-1
Record: 0W 0D 1L — 0-1

GREECE

Gibraltar: 0-3, 0-5
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 0-8

Malta: 2-2, 0-2
Record: 0W 1D 1L — 2-4

IRELAND

Gibraltar: 0-1, 0-2, 0-4, 0-4
Record: 0W 0D 4L — 0-11

Malta: 0-1
Record: 0W 0D 1L — 0-1

KOSOVO

Gibraltar: 0-1
Record: 0W 0D 1L — 0-1

Malta: 1-3, 0-5, 1-2
Record: 0W 0D 3L — 1-10
LATVIA

Gibraltar: 1-0, 1-3, 1-3, 0-1, 0-1
Record: 1W 0D 4L — 3-8

Malta: 1-1, 1-0
Record: 1W 1D 0L — 2-1

LIECHTENSTEIN

Gibraltar: 0-2, 2-1, 1-0, 1-1, 2-0, 2-2, 0-0
Record: 3W 3D 1L — 8-6

Malta: 3-0, 2-0
Record: 2W 0D 0L — 5-0

LITHUANIA

Gibraltar: 0-1, 0-1
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 0-2

Malta: 0-0, 1-1
Record: 0W 2D 0L — 1-1

MOLDOVA

Gibraltar: 1-1
Record: 0W 1D 0L — 1-1

Malta: 0-2, 1-0
Record: 1W 0D 1L — 1-2

NETHERLANDS

Gibraltar: 0-7, 0-6, 0-3, 0-6
Record: 0W 0D 4L — 0-22

Malta: 0-8, 0-4
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 0-12
NORTH MACEDONIA

Gibraltar: 0-2, 0-4
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 0-6

Malta: 1-2, 0-2
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 1-4

NORWAY

Gibraltar: 0-3, 1-5
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 1-8

Malta: 0-2, 1-2
Record: 0W 0D 2L — 1-4

SAN MARINO

Gibraltar: 1-0, 0-0, 1-0, 1-1
Record: 2W 2D 0L — 3-1

Malta: 2-0, 1-0, 3-1
Record: 3W 0D 0L — 6-1

SLOVENIA

Gibraltar: 0-6
Record: 0W 0D 1L — 0-6

Malta: 0-1, 0-4, 2-2
Record: 0W 1D 2L — 2-7