Malta v Italy background
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Article summary
Malta's record against Italy can only get better, as they take on their near neighbours in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group H looking to stop a run of six straight defeats.
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Article body
Malta will hope to make a breakthrough against Italy as the sides square up for the seventh time at senior international level in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group H.
Match background
• Malta's record in six matches against Italy is W0 D0 L6 (W0 D0 L3 at home, W0 D0 L3 in Italy). They have conceded twice in all three of their home games against their nearest neighbours.
• Malta's Italian coach Pietro Ghedin is in his second spell in charge on the island. The one-time SS Lazio defender led Malta from 1993 to 1995, and was then assistant coach of Italy (1996–2004, working under Cesare Maldini, Dino Zoff and Giovanni Trapattoni) and coach of the Italian national women's team (2005–12) before returning to Malta in 2012.
• Malta and Italy's only UEFA European Championship meetings came in qualifying for the 1988 finals: Azeglio Vicini's Italy beat Gencho Dobrev's Malta 2-0 in Ta' Qali on 6 December 1986, then 5-0 in Bergamo on 24 January 1987.
• The figures at youth and age-limit levels are even more bleak for Malta: their 21 encounters with Italian sides in UEFA competitions have all been won by Italy, who have not conceded to Malta at U16, U17, U18, U19 or U21 level in 17 matches, since a 5-1 U18 win in February 1981.
• Eight UEFA club competition meetings between Maltese and Italian clubs have produced eight Italian wins – and an aggregate score of 33-2.
