Malta continued their positive run of form with a 2-0 victory over Liechtenstein in an international friendly at the National Stadium on Sunday evening, with Jake Grech and Andrea Zammit scoring in either half.

The victory followed Thursday’s 2-1 UEFA Nations League success against Andorra, giving Emilio De Leo’s side consecutive wins ahead of their next competitive encounter against Gibraltar.

De Leo made several changes to his starting line-up, handing Jake Azzopardi and Basil Tuma their first starts, while Joseph Mbong captained the national team for the first time.

Malta attempted to dictate proceedings during the opening stages, although Liechtenstein adopted a defensive approach and looked to exploit opportunities on the counterattack.

The visitors were presented with an excellent opportunity to take the lead after 12 minutes when Azzopardi fouled Kenny Kindle inside the penalty area. However, Nicolas Hasler failed to convert the resulting penalty, sending his effort wide.

Malta responded four minutes later when Azzopardi delivered an excellent lofted pass towards Juan Corbalan, who attempted to lift the ball over goalkeeper Justin Ospelt but failed to find the net.

The hosts continued to press forward, with Azzopardi firing wide following a promising attacking move in the 25th minute.

Shortly afterwards, Brandon Paiber delivered a dangerous ball from a corner towards Gabriel Mentz, whose effort narrowly missed the target.

Malta eventually broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when Paiber supplied an excellent pass to Grech, who unleashed a powerful shot into the net to give the hosts a deserved half-time advantage.

De Leo introduced three substitutes at the interval, bringing on Paul Mbong, Carlo Zammit Lonardelli and Andrea Zammit.

The changes immediately added fresh impetus to Malta’s attacking play.

Early in the second half, Joseph Mbong was released through the Liechtenstein defence before cutting the ball back towards his brother Paul, whose effort was brilliantly saved by Ospelt.

Zammit subsequently tested the visiting goalkeeper with a powerful right-footed effort in the 58th minute, forcing another save.

However, the Malta substitute was not to be denied.

In the 63rd minute, Zammit capitalised on hesitation in the Liechtenstein defence, racing through on goal before calmly placing the ball beyond Ospelt to double Malta’s advantage.

It was Zammit’s first goal for the senior national team and effectively settled the encounter.

Malta maintained control throughout the closing stages, comfortably protecting their two-goal advantage to secure another encouraging victory.

The result provided a further boost for De Leo’s side ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Nations League encounter against Gibraltar at the National Stadium, which kicks off at 8.45pm.

Match details

International friendly

National Stadium, Ta’ Qali – September 27, 2026

Malta 2 Liechtenstein 0

Half-time: 1-0

Scorers: Jake Grech 37′, Andrea Zammit 63′.

Malta: Rashed Al-Tumi (James Sissons 75′); Jean Borg (Kean Scicluna 66′), Gabriel Mentz (Zach Muscat 75′), Joseph Mbong (Adam Magri Overend 66′), Jake Grech (Matthew Guillaumier 84′), Brandon Paiber (Kevin Cannavò 75′), Myles Beerman (Ryan Camenzuli 84′), Jake Azzopardi, Keyon Ewurum (Paul Mbong 46′), Juan Corbalan (Carlo Zammit Lonardelli 46′), Basil Tuma (Andrea Zammit 46′).

Coach: Emilio De Leo.

Liechtenstein: Justin Ospelt; Max Göppel, Lars Traber (Jonas Weissenhofer 75′), Marcel Büchel (Severin Schlegel 61′), Alessandro Lo Russo (Aron Sele 61′), Kenny Kindle (Fabio Luque-Notaro 46′), Livio Meier (Niklas Beck 75′), Andrin Netzer (Bruno Poitner 75′), Liam Kranz (Alessio Hasler 61′), Nicolas Hasler (Emanuel Zünd 46′), Jens Hofer.

Coach: Konrad Fünfstück.

Referee: Daniyar Sakhi (Kazakhstan).

Yellow card: Livio Meier (Liechtenstein).