Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/887355
maltatoday SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2017 10 News X Why Team Malta still struggles to raise its game X X X STUCK. Goals, no cups, much tears Euro 2012 qualifers World Cup 2014 qualifiers Euro 2016 qualifers World Cup 2018 qualifiers Country Pop. Estonia 1,251,581 Cyprus 1,221,549 Montenegro 642,550 Luxembourg 594,130 Malta 416,338 Iceland 339,747 Andorra 85,702 Faroe Islands 50,730 Liechtenstein 38,244 San Marino 33,537 Gibraltar 29,396 Populations Gibraltar entered competitive international football in 2016 5 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 5 4 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 6 4 3 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 5 3 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 WINS WINS WINS WINS W ith a single victory and only 15 goals to its name, Malta languishes behind minnows like Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and the Faroe Islands in its footballing prowess. An analysis of the last four qualifying tour- naments for the World Cup (2018 and 2014) and the European Championship (2016 and 2012) puts Malta at par with Andorra, San Marino and Gibraltar. The national team lost 35 of the 40 games played over the past seven years in the quali- fying tournaments but what is worrying is the apparent lack of progress over the pe- riod. It is clear that the national team is stuck in a rut, unable to make the breakthrough other small European countries have. Leaving aside Iceland – a country with a population less than Malta's that qualified for the Euros three years ago and which booked a place in the 2018 World Cup – even the Faroe Islands have done better. With a population the size of two electoral districts in Malta, the Faroe Islands racked up 20 points during the same period, win- ning five games and scoring 20 goals. The numbers are bound to dismay any football fan but for Birkirkara FC coach Paul Zammit they do not come as a surprise. He says there has been little progress at national team level when compared to coun- tries that are only slightly bigger than Malta. But he believes it is a mistake to focus on the national team. "This has been the story of always but by focussing only on the national team we are missing the bigger picture because the coun- tries that have made much bigger strides have adopted long term plans to improve Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet takes charge of the national team at a critical juncture that sees Malta raking in a measly seven points over seven years in the Euro and World Cup qualifiers. KURT SANSONE tries to understand why