Combative Malta suffer narrow defeat at home to Latvia

UEFA EUROPEAN U21 CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER
18.11.2025
Centenary Stadium, Ta’ Qali

MALTA…0
LATVIA…1
(HT 0-0)

60’ Kevins Cēsnieks (LVA)

Malta suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Latvia in a cagey UEFA Euro U21 Qualifier at the Centenary Stadium on Tuesday.

The match was off to a cagey start, with both sides looking to impose themselves on the ball, but both were finding it difficult to get a foothold on the match in the early stages.

Latvia were looking the brighter of the two teams early on, and they were starting to threaten the Maltese goal more, but they could not trouble goalkeeper Karl Sargent.

Latvia continued to threaten as the half wore on, and Sargent was called into action again in the 24th minute, when a shot from right on the edge of the penalty area was palmed away for a corner.

Shaisen Attard had Malta’s first major attempt on goal in the 26th minute, when he was found by Sven Xerri, and the forward turned quickly before hitting a left-footed strike, but it went over the bar.

Joshua Pitts tested goalkeeper Nikita Parfjonovs in the 30th minute, cutting inside from the left wing, before hitting a shot, but the Latvian shot stopper calmly collected the ball.

Sargent was called into action in the 39th minute, when a ball found Valerijs Lizunovs, who hit a powerful strike, but the Maltese goalkeeper reacted quickly to make a smart stop. He had to make another save just moments later, as a Latvian free-kick was whipped into the penalty area, and the away side made first contact on the ball, but the header was once again excellently saved by Sargent.

The score remained goalless at the break, with nothing to separate the two sides after 45 minutes.

The second-half was off to a quicker start, with both sides looking to inject some pace in their play. Latvia had the first opportunity of the half just moments after the restart, with an acrobatic finish being excellently stopped by Sargent.

In the 52nd minute, the ball fell to Jake Azzopardi on the edge of the penalty area, and while he tried to find the bottom corner with his shot, it was tame and calmly collected by the goalkeeper.

Malta were starting to look increasingly dangerous, particularly when utilising their pace down the wings. In the 57th minute, a neat counter led to Pitts cutting inside, but his attempt was palmed away by Parfjonovs, straight into the path of the onrushing Attard, whose shot went way over the bar.

Despite Malta’s pressure, the away side were the ones to take the lead in the 60th minute, after a corner was not dealt with by the defence, and the ball then fell to Kevins Cēsnieks, who tucked it into the net.

Malta looked to respond, and in the 67th minute, after some excellent work from Sven Xerri, the ball was then played to Keyon Ewurum, who went round the outside before hit strike was palmed away.

Malta had a golden opportunity to equalise in the 73rd minute, when a free-kick was swung into the penalty area, with the ball falling to Jake Vassallo, yet his finish was deflected away, sending it only narrowly wide of the post.

Malta were reduced to 10 men in the 84th minute, after Benjamin Hili was shown a straight red card for a dangerous foul.

Latvia looked to take advantage straight away, and in the 89th minute they had an attempt smack against the woodwork, after a shot by Kristians Mezsargs.

Malta pushed in search of an equaliser, but they were unable to breach a stubborn Latvian backline, and the match finished in a narrow defeat for the home side.

Malta
1 Karl Sargent (GK), 2 Sven Xerri, 5 Kean Scicluna (4 Jake Vassallo, 46’), 7 Shaisen Attard (14 Keyon Ewurum, 64’), 8 Lucas Caruana (21 Sean Gatt, 82’), 9 Basil Tuma, 16 Jake Micallef (C), 17 Jake Azzopardi, 18 Daniel Letherby (10 Jake Grech, 23’), 19 Benjamin Hili, 20 Joshua Pitts (22 Nicholas Agius, 64’)
Coach: Davide Mazzotta

Latvia
1 Nikita Parfjonovs (GK), 2 Maksims Semeško, 4 Kevins Cēsnieks (6 Ralfs Kragliks, 70’), 7 Gļebs Žaleiko, 8 Danny Anisjko (21 Roberts Bočs, 46’, 11 Emils Evelons, 90+1’), 9 Valerijs Lizunovs (17 Kristians Mezsargs, 70’), 10 Ivans Patrikejevs (C), 13 Glebs Mihalcovs, 14 Daniels Nosegbe-Suško, 20 Milāns Tihonovičs, 22 Markuss Strods
Coach: Jakub Dovalil

Referee: Mehmet Türkmen (TUR)

Yellow cards: Maksims Semeško (LVA), Nicholas Agius (MLT), Sean Gatt (MLT), Nikita Parfjonovs (LVA)

Red cards: Benjamin Hili (MLT)