Club and country: Malta's international and domestic football successes

The little Mediterranean island has played 437 international matches since 1957, when it lost 2-3 to Austria on its debut. In the following 66 years, there have been 72 draws and 60 wins at an international win rate of 13.73%.

Now ranked 172nd in the world, Malta is regarded as a minnow in the competitive international game, which has worked to its benefit in the past. In 1994, Belgium realised too late that underestimating an opponent could end in disaster. 

With a team including several players from the German Bundesliga, Italy's Serie A, and the Dutch Eredivisie, Belgium slipped to a 0-1 defeat to the Maltese at the Ta' Qali Stadium. Carmel Busuttil netted the only goal in the friendly match which, along with a 1975 2-0 win over Greece, remains one of Malta's landmark victories. In 2006, two André Schembri goals saw off Hungary in another landmark result.

Malta has almost got over the line in other games against highly-rated opposition. The nation managed draws with West Germany, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland, among others. 

With the new millennium seeing the appearance of more emerging footballing nations, positive results have become more frequent for the Maltese. In 2008, a 7–1 defeat of Liechtenstein at Ta' Qali became Malta's biggest international win, with the nation's most capped player, Michael Mifsud, scoring five times. Unsurprisingly, Mifsud is also Malta's record goalscorer. 

In 2017, Malta beat a much-favoured Ukrainian team in a friendly match, with defender Zach Muscat scoring the only goal. Muscat is one Maltese player actively plying their trade in competitive European leagues. We'll look at three of these while assessing their European clubs' chances of success in their respective leagues.

Zach Muscat plays in the Portuguese Primeira Liga for S.C. Farense. The Maltese right-back, with 54 caps for his country, was instrumental in helping his club gain promotion to the top tier in Portugal last season for the first time since 2001/02. Farense finished as runners-up in Liga 2 to Moreirense F.C. 

So far this season, 30-year-old Muskat has played all but one of Farense's Premeira Liga matches, helping the 3500/1 underdogs for the title to seventh on the log. Farense's odds, and others we'll mention, come courtesy of the bookies on bettingsites.co.uk, which offers some of the most respected site reviews within the sports betting industry. According to Jamie Clark of bettingsites.co.uk, “Balanced reviews of bookmaker websites and apps is what we’re all about at bettingsites.co.uk with the team always striving to be honest in their appraisal. We’re not afraid to call a spade a spade. Being frank and honest about the big guns in the gambling industry is the best policy, as that’s what our readers want.” Therefore, the bookmakers listed on the platform are among the best and most trustworthy, with excellent odds on all of the players and teams we’re highlighting.

French-born footballer Teddy Teuma

Another Maltese player active in one of Europe's big leagues is Teddy Teuma. In July 2023, the French-born midfielder signed a three-year contract with Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims in his homeland, and three goals in five league appearances since have assisted Reims to eighth in the table. 

After finishing 11th last term, bookmakers offer title odds as short as 300/1 on the team from France's 12th largest city. Teddy Teuma will do his utmost to help his new team to climb the league. Like Muskat, he's 30 years old now and has experience of 350 professional club matches and 32 Maltese caps behind him. 

Jodi Jones does not play at the domestic level of Muskat or Teuma, but League 2 in the English Football League remains a competitive brand of football. After featuring for Notts County on loan in the National League last season, the 26-year-old Maltese signed with the club after it won promotion to the English fourth tier via the playoffs. 

Notts County finds itself sixth in the standings going into the second half of the season. Jones has been a regular in the County side, missing only three games in its push for consecutive promotions. With four league goals and an incredible 11 assists, the midfielder with 12 caps for Malta has been integral to this effort. At 4/1 to gain promotion, Notts County and Jodi Jones have a decent chance of doing so.