Malta hope to take leaf out of history books

Malta may look like no match for Greece on paper, but as they meet again in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group F, the home side will be well aware that they are capable of causing their opponents real problems.

Match background
• The teams have played on eight previous occasions, but while Malta have lost all four of their games in Greece without scoring, the visitors required four matches to secure their first win on the island. Overall, Malta's record against Greece reads W1 D2 L5 (W1 D2 L1 in Malta).

• The countries first met in a 1972 UEFA European Championship qualifier in Gzira on 11 October 1970, when it took a late Michalis Kritikopoulos goal to cancel out William Vassallo's 66th-minute opener.

• Malta trumped that 1-1 draw with victory over the Greeks in a qualifier for the next UEFA European Championship on 23 February 1975. Italian coach Terenzio Polverini led them to a 2-0 win through goals from Richard Aquilina and Vincent Magro.

• Pippo Psaila's Malta held Greece to another 1-1 draw in a UEFA European Championship qualifier on 22 December 1991, with Petros Marinakis cancelling out Stefan Sultana's opener for the hosts.

• Greece finally won in Malta at the fourth attempt in UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying, Angelos Basinas scoring the only goal of the game for the then European champions on 28 March 2007 from the penalty spot.

• Malta have lost all four of their Group F games by an average margin of two goals, while Greece – second in the section – remain undefeated.