Malta welcome Lithuania to the National Stadium in Ta' Qali for their third 2026 World Cup qualifier on Saturday evening. The two European minnows, ranked outside the top 140 in the FIFA World Rankings, are joined in Group G by the Netherlands, Poland and Finland.
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The two minnows of Group G meet at Ta' Qali on Saturday afternoon (17:00), as Malta host Lithuania. In truth, neither of these teams harbour serious ambitions of making it to the World Cup next summer given they have been placed in a group with the Netherlands, Poland and Finland. However, wins in these qualifiers are important for world rankings, and I believe that there is value to be found in this fixture. Read on for my Malta vs Lithuania predictions.
Jamie Carragher’s son, Wigan defender James Carragher, will be hoping to make his international bow in this fixture having been called up to the squad for the first time during the last international break. Reading forward Basil Tuma is the other EFL representative and the 20-year-old will be hoping for more minutes to prove his worth to manager Emilio De Leo.
Steve Pisani and Teddy Teuma offer experience in midfield, with the latter also the joint-highest goalscorer in this squad with four goals to his name. Striker Kyrian Nwoko also has four goals and could be the key to unlocking this Lithuanian defence.
Lithuania boss Edgaras Jankauskas will hope Armandas Kucys and Gytis Paulauskas can provide the firepower up front while this is a special occasion for Fedor Cernych, who will play his 100th game for his country.
There are no potential debutants in this squad and plenty of experience at the back, with Justas Lasickas and Edvinas Girdvainis both having played over 50 times for Lithuania.
Malta have finished rock bottom of their World Cup qualification group in each of the last seven campaigns and they are on course to continue as a basement nation after losing their opening two Group G fixtures to Finland and Poland in March.
Under new head coach Emilio De Leo who was appointed in January, Malta suffered a narrow 1-0 home loss to Finland before going down 2-0 away against Poland, failing to convert any of their eight shots on target across the two matches which both ended with a man sent off.
The Reds, who already find themselves four points behind the top two in Group G, have never qualified for a major international tournament and have consistently struggled to put themselves in the frame for a place at the World Cup, having won just three of their 114 qualifiers in total.
Ranked 169th in the world by FIFA, Malta have won one and drawn one of their previous three meetings with Lithuania, so there is reason for the Reds to be quietly optimistic of avoiding their 100th defeat in World Cup qualifying on Saturday.
An additional boost for Malta is the fact that Lithuania have failed to win any of their last nine international matches, ending an eight-game losing streak with a 2-2 comeback draw with Finland last time out.
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The two minnows of Group G meet at Ta' Qali on Saturday afternoon (17:00), as Malta host Lithuania. In truth, neither of these teams harbour serious ambitions of making it to the World Cup next summer given they have been placed in a group with the Netherlands, Poland and Finland. However, wins in these qualifiers are important for world rankings, and I believe that there is value to be found in this fixture. Read on for my Malta vs Lithuania predictions.
Jamie Carragher’s son, Wigan defender James Carragher, will be hoping to make his international bow in this fixture having been called up to the squad for the first time during the last international break. Reading forward Basil Tuma is the other EFL representative and the 20-year-old will be hoping for more minutes to prove his worth to manager Emilio De Leo.
Steve Pisani and Teddy Teuma offer experience in midfield, with the latter also the joint-highest goalscorer in this squad with four goals to his name. Striker Kyrian Nwoko also has four goals and could be the key to unlocking this Lithuanian defence.
Lithuania boss Edgaras Jankauskas will hope Armandas Kucys and Gytis Paulauskas can provide the firepower up front while this is a special occasion for Fedor Cernych, who will play his 100th game for his country.
There are no potential debutants in this squad and plenty of experience at the back, with Justas Lasickas and Edvinas Girdvainis both having played over 50 times for Lithuania.
Malta have finished rock bottom of their World Cup qualification group in each of the last seven campaigns and they are on course to continue as a basement nation after losing their opening two Group G fixtures to Finland and Poland in March.
Under new head coach Emilio De Leo who was appointed in January, Malta suffered a narrow 1-0 home loss to Finland before going down 2-0 away against Poland, failing to convert any of their eight shots on target across the two matches which both ended with a man sent off.
The Reds, who already find themselves four points behind the top two in Group G, have never qualified for a major international tournament and have consistently struggled to put themselves in the frame for a place at the World Cup, having won just three of their 114 qualifiers in total.
Ranked 169th in the world by FIFA, Malta have won one and drawn one of their previous three meetings with Lithuania, so there is reason for the Reds to be quietly optimistic of avoiding their 100th defeat in World Cup qualifying on Saturday.
An additional boost for Malta is the fact that Lithuania have failed to win any of their last nine international matches, ending an eight-game losing streak with a 2-2 comeback draw with Finland last time out.