England‘s final home game of a near-impeccable Euro 2024 qualifying campaign sees the Three Lions host minnows Malta at Wembley in Friday’s Group C battle.
While the Three Lions are already guaranteed to finish top of the section, Gareth Southgate‘s side are still out to achieve maximum points this month in the hope of entering Pot 1 for the group-stage draw.
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Completing their two-part revenge mission over Italy at the scene of their Euro 2020 heartbreak, it was only fitting for England to book their flights to Germany with a comprehensive beating of the reigning continental champions, who are not the same force they were during Roberto Mancini‘s glory days.
The Three Lions were briefly made to pay for an atrocious defensive episode as former West Ham United flop Gianluca Scamacca crashed home from close range, but a pair of Harry Kane strikes either side of a Marcus Rashford finish completed a stellar comeback for Southgate’s troops, who had previously looked uninspiring in a 1-0 friendly win over Australia.
England’s beating of the Azzurri moved them onto 16 points from six games in Group C, and while Italy and Ukraine can draw level with the Euro 2020 runners-up, the head-to-head column will come to the Three Lions’ rescue if they suffer a pair of shock losses in their final two matches.
While first place is wrapped up, England still have one more mission to accomplish, as they are one of seven teams battling for three spots in Pot 1 of the group-stage draw, which will be allocated to the best-performing teams in the preliminary rounds – hosts Germany and Portugal are already present in that section.
However, England have a game in hand on three of those seven nations in Belgium, Austria and Turkey – all of whom could be left in the Three Lions’ wake with defeats in their final group matches – and an emphatic 14th straight home win in Euros qualifying will be no less than the Wembley faithful demand on Friday.
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The situation could hardly be more different for a beleaguered Malta crop, who will only be out to restore the smallest sliver of pride in their final contest in Group C, which has ended up being another continental nightmare for the world’s 171st-ranked nation.
One of five teams without a single point on the board – sharing that unwanted honour with San Marino, Cyprus, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein – Malta are at risk of losing every one of their Euros qualifying matches for only the second time in 51 years; the visitors lost eight out of eight during the preliminary rounds for Euro 2000.
However, Michele Marcolini‘s men were briefly in dreamland against Ukraine on matchday seven, as Paul Mbong gave Malta the lead with just 12 minutes played, but Ryan Camenzuli turned into his own net before Artem Dovbyk and Mykhaylo Mudryk completed the Ukrainian comeback in a 3-1 beating.
Guaranteed to finish dead last no matter what transpires at Wembley on Friday, the Reds will surely be left to reflect on another miserable year where 1-0 friendly wins over Gibraltar and Luxembourg were the only highlights, and their losing streak in Euros qualifiers could stretch to 17 matches in the English capital.
England’s sojourn to Ta’ Qali in June saw the Three Lions customarily thump Malta in a 4-0 beating, seeing the hosts make it six wins from six against their cellar-dwelling opponents, who have only scored once in this fixture to date – a Richard Wright own goal in a 2000 friendly.
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One month on from running the show against Italy, Real Madrid hotshot Jude Bellingham headlines a quintet of England withdrawals, as a shoulder injury has forced the 20-year-old to pull out alongside Lewis Dunk, James Maddison, Callum Wilson and Levi Colwill, while Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips are yet to link up with the team for personal reasons.
John Stones, Luke Shaw, Ben Chilwell and Reece James are notable defensive absentees too, opening the door for Rico Lewis and Ezri Konsa to earn their first call-ups, while Cole Palmer has also benefitted from the controversial omissions of Raheem Sterling and James Ward-Prowse to join the senior ranks for the first time.
While Southgate’s defensive options are noticeably limited, the England coach ought to consider mixing things up before a trickier test in the shape of North Macedonia next week, which could see Sam Johnstone, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarrod Bowen and Conor Gallagher handed chances to impress.
As for Malta, the standout inclusion in Marcolini’s 24-man squad is Jamaican-born attacker Kemar Reid, who has plied his trade in the Maltese Premier League since 2016 and is now in line for his first cap after gaining citizenship towards the end of October.
The visitors’ offensive ranks have also been bolstered by the returns of Teddy Teuma and Jodi Jones, neither of whom were available for October’s fixtures due to injury, and the former should occupy the number 10 spot on the back of registering four goals and two assists in 10 Ligue 1 games for Reims this term.
England possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Walker, Guehi, Maguire, Trippier; Alexander-Arnold, Henderson, Gallagher; Bowen, Kane, Foden
Malta possible starting lineup:
Bonello; S. Borg, J. Borg, Pepe; Attard, N. Muscat, Guillaumier, Camenzuli; Teuma; Jones, P. Mbong
Whether Southgate opts to go full strength or deploy a much-changed XI for the visit of Malta, there should only be one outcome on Friday night, as England further their Pot 1 ambitions with a comprehensive thrashing.
With Teuma and Jones back in the fold, Maltese fans may possess a glimmer of optimism about their side’s chances of breaching a ravaged England defence, but they should soon be subjected to a rude awakening.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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