Malta suffered a heavy defeat to a strong Netherlands side in Groningen on Tuesday night in Group G of the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers.
Right from the start, the Netherlands looked to take the game to Malta, threatening the Maltese backline.
Only six minutes into the game, Xavi Simons was brought down in the penalty area, and despite a long VAR check, referee Ricardo de Burgos blew for the penalty. Memphis Depay stepped up, and he sent Henry Bonello the wrong way to open the scoring.
Malta tried to push forward, but this left more gaps for the Netherlands to exploit, and in the 16th minute, Denzel Dumfries crossed the ball towards Depay, who hit a thunderous strike that nestled into the net to make it 2-0.
Malta had a tame shot from Matthew Guillaumier in the 21st minute saved by Mark Flekken, and their defending quickly turned into an attack, as the Dutch side went the other way. The ball fell to captain Virgil van Dijk, who stroked the ball past Bonello to make it 3-0.
The away side tightened up defensively in the closing stages of the first-half, making a number of crucial blocks to deny the Netherlands from getting a fourth goal.
The rout continues in the second half
Following the break, Malta remained adventurous going forward, combining well at times, yet they struggled to get the final pass right to mount any serious danger on the Netherlands defence.
In the 61st minute, the Netherlands made it 4-0, as Depay found Simons, who finished off a move with a neat strike.
The Netherlands continued to assert their dominance in the second-half, and while Malta tried to play out from the back and attack bravely, they were still no match for the Oranje’s superiority going forward.
The score became 5-0 in the 74th minute, as Donyell Malen, who had come on just minutes before, connected with a low cross from Micky van de Ven. The goalscorer then turned into provider only a few minutes later, setting up Noa Lang brilliantly to make it 6-0.
Malen then scored his side’s seventh goal with a solo effort, before Van de Ven completed the scoring with a goal of his own in stoppage time.
Malta had some opportunities going forward, yet they could not make the most of their chances, and the game finished 8-0 to the home side.
Malta’s next match in Group G will be an away trip to face off against Lithuania in September, as Coach De Leo’s side looks to regroup and put this game behind them.
Line ups and stats
NETHERLANDS…8
MALTA…0
(HT 3-0)
9’ Memphis Depay, 16’ Memphis Depay, 20’ Virgil van Dijk, 61’ Xavi Simons, 74’ Donyell Malen, 78’ Noa Lang, 80’ Donyell Malen, 90+2’ Micky van de Ven (NED)
Netherlands
23 Mark Flekken (GK), 4 Virgil van Dijk (C), 6 Stefan de Vrij, 7 Xavi Simons, 8 Ryan Gravenberch (20 Mats Wieffer 46’), 10 Memphis Depay (18 Donyell Malen 72’), 11 Cody Gakpo (17 Noa Lang 46’), 15 Micky van de Ven, 19 Justin Kluivert (9 Wout Weghorst 62’), 21 Frenkie de Jong, 22 Denzel Dumfries (2 Lutsharel Geertruida 79’)
Coach: Ronald Koeman
Malta
1 Henry Bonello (GK), 2 Adam Magri Overend (5 Kurt Shaw 46’), 3 Ryan Camenzuli (17 Jake Azzopardi 82’), 4 Gabriel Mentz, 6 Matthew Guillaumier (C), 7 Joseph Mbong, 8 Paul Mbong, 10 Teddy Teuma (11 Jode Felice Jones 60’), 18 James Carragher, 21 Juan Carlos Corbalan (9 Basil Tuma 46’), 23 Alexander Satariano (15 Myles Beerman 82’)
Coach: Emilio De Leo
Referee: Ricado de Burgos (ESP)
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
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