Malta U-21s lose 0-4 against strong Swedes

7th June 2018,Ta’ Qali Centenary Stadium,UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 6,MALTA        0SWEDEN    4(HT 0-2)  Sweden stayed on course to claim first place in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualification Group 6 with a comfortable victory over Malta in hot and windy circumstances at the Centenary Stadium. As expected, the hosts found it tough against the physically strong Swedes who showed some excellent combination football throughout the match. Malta Under-21 coach Silvio Vella handed a debut to Neil Tabone, of Żejtun Corinthians, on the left flank. Joseph Mbong was the most experienced player at this level with his 18th Under-21 cap. The visitors took only two minutes to open the scoring, courtesy of left flank defender Joel Andersson who tapped the ball home near the post.  With 10 minutes on the clock, central midfielder Svante Ingelsson, who plays for Udinese, had to leave the pitch injured.  After 21 minutes, Juan Corbalan’s shot from just outside the box just missed target. It was the first chance for Malta who were playing against the strong wind. Goalkeeper Jake Galea intercepted a flowing Swedish attack in the 26th minute and three minutes after, again after a fluent attack, Jonathan Levi had the chance to put his side two-nil up but his shot from just outside the box just missed target. Sweden made it 2-0 on the half-hour. Carlos Strandberg found the net with a low shot from inside the box, his sixth goal in this qualification group. The towering centre-forward had another chance in the 37th minute but his shot was blocked by Galea. Malta tried hard to penetrate the Swedish defence but couldn’t get through. Vella's boys had the first opportunity in the second half in the 48th minute with a good attack with Kyrian Nwoko, Jurgen Degabriele and Jake Grech all involved. Myles Beerman however, was inches short to connect with Nwoko's pass in front of goalkeeper Oscar Linner. Levi nearly added a third in a fast Swedish counter-attack in the 60th minute but his shot just missed target. A minute later Sweden scored the third goal. Erdal Rakip, who plays for Crystal Palace in England, received a long pass on the left side of the box and  Sandberg applied the final touch. Malta tried to get a goal and won a series of corners on 70 minutes via Nwoko and Jake Grech, without any result. Instead, with 10 minutes to go, the visitors won a penalty after Jean Borg pulled Levi down in the box. Rakip made no mistake from the spot. MALTAJake Galea, Karl Micallef, Jean Borg, Dunstan Vella, Neil Tabone, (Kurt Shaw 75), Myles Beerman, Juan Corbolan, Joseph Mbong, Jake Grech, (Zachary Scerri 76), Jurgen Degabriele, (Michele Sansone 65), Kyrian Nwoko SWEDENOscar Linner, Linus Wahlqvist, Filip Dagerstal, Franz Brorsson, Joel Andersson, Isak Ssewankambo, Jonathan Levi, Erdal Rakip, Svante Ingelsson, (Daleho Irandust 10), (Tesfaldet Tekie 46), Jordan Larsson, Carlos Strandberg Referee: Peter Kjaesgaard-Andersen (Denmark) Yellow cards: Borg (Malta;  Ssewankambo (Sweden) Attendance: 525