Malta produced two spirited displays but were ultimately left empty-handed after suffering defeats to Georgia and England in the 2026 Euro Beach Soccer League in Batumi.

Despite the results, Coach Indrek Palm’s side showed great determination and created numerous scoring opportunities, earning praise for their performances against higher-ranked opposition.

Georgia Edge Malta in Closely Contested Encounter

Malta narrowly lost 2-1 to hosts Georgia in their second match of the tournament after pushing the home side all the way.

The Maltese started brightly and nearly took the lead after just two minutes and 10 seconds when Cutajar’s effort drifted narrowly wide. Thirty seconds later, Cutajar was called into action at the other end, producing an excellent save to deny Lomidze.

The opening period ended goalless, but the contest opened up after the interval.

Captain Venuto came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 15th minute when his powerful 20-metre effort struck the post. Two minutes later, Georgia went ahead as Ivaniadze’s powerful strike took a deflection off Diakvnishvili before finding the net.

The hosts doubled their advantage with just 42 seconds remaining in the second period after Malta failed to clear a corner, allowing Chikirov to bundle the ball over the line.

Malta refused to give up and continued to apply pressure throughout the final period. Demanuele struck the post, while Bray and Cutajar both created further opportunities as the visitors searched for a way back into the match.

Their persistence was rewarded in the closing seconds when Bray produced one of the goals of the tournament with a stunning 10-metre bicycle kick from the left side of the goalkeeper.

The spectacular finish, along with Malta’s committed performance, earned warm applause from the packed crowd, including many Georgian supporters who acknowledged the visitors’ impressive display despite the narrow defeat.

England Prove Too Strong

Malta then suffered a 5-2 defeat to England in their third fixture of the competition.

Coach Indrek Palm’s side made an excellent start and took the lead 18 minutes and 48 seconds into the match when Bray unleashed a superb 20-metre strike.

However, England responded strongly and turned the game around in the final minute of the opening period. Johnson’s cross led to the equaliser before Black fired home a powerful free-kick to give England a 2-1 advantage.

Malta again began the second period positively, but Caruana missed a golden opportunity from close range that could have levelled the scores.

England extended their lead at the 30-minute mark when Lawson converted another free-kick to make it 3-1.

Bray was unfortunate not to reduce the deficit four minutes later when another excellent effort crashed against the post.

England added a fourth goal with just 33 seconds remaining in the second period as Lawson found the top corner with yet another free-kick. Less than a minute into the final period, Robinson converted a penalty to increase England’s lead to 5-1.

Malta continued to battle until the final whistle and were rewarded when Bray controlled a pass superbly before firing into the left-hand corner with one minute and 26 seconds remaining to make it 5-2.

The Maltese nearly grabbed another late goal, but Agius was denied by an excellent save just 15 seconds from full-time.

Final Match Ahead

Malta will now look to finish the tournament on a positive note when they face Slovakia in their fourth and final match of the 2026 Euro Beach Soccer League on Sunday, with kick-off scheduled for 14:30 CEST.