UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifier
27.03.2026 – Municipal Stadium of Livadia, Greece

Greece 5 – 0 Malta
(HT 2-0)
Scorers: Gkoumas 16’, Koutsias 23’, 61’ (P), 79’, Kaloskamis 49’

The Malta Under-21 national team suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat away to a clinical Greece side, with the hosts capitalising on their chances despite Malta showing resilience in spells throughout the match.

Greece began on the front foot and threatened early, nearly opening the scoring in the seventh minute following a dangerous corner, but Malta’s defence managed to scramble the ball clear.

The breakthrough came on 16 minutes when Konstantinos Gkoumas was picked out inside the area and calmly finished past James Sissons to give the hosts the lead. Malta attempted to respond shortly after, with Brooklyn Borg threading a fine through ball to Kai Giyan Bartolo, but the forward failed to make clean contact, allowing Nikolaos Botis to gather.

Greece doubled their advantage in the 23rd minute, as Georgios Koutsias reacted quickest at the back post to convert from a corner. The hosts continued to press, but Sissons produced a strong save late in the half to keep the score at 2-0 going into the break.

The second half saw Greece extend their lead almost immediately. Dimitrios Kaloskamis found space and finished neatly to make it three, putting the hosts firmly in control.

Malta responded with a positive spell, creating a few openings, including a counterattack that saw Nicholas Agius force a corner. However, Greece remained composed defensively and absorbed the pressure.

On the hour mark, the hosts were awarded a penalty, which Koutsias converted confidently to make it 4-0. Despite Malta enjoying a period of possession and trying to break through, Greece struck again on the counter in the 79th minute, with Koutsias completing his hat-trick.

Malta nearly grabbed a late consolation when a close-range effort from a corner was well saved by Botis, but the rebound could not be turned in.

In the end, Greece’s efficiency in front of goal proved decisive, as Malta were left to reflect on a tough result despite some encouraging phases of play.

The young Maltese side will now look to bounce back when they face Georgia in their next qualifier on Tuesday, 31 March 2026.

Greece:
Nikolaos Botis; Athanasios Koutsogoulas, Noa Tzeims Alen, Alexios Kalogeropoulos (C), Christos Alexiou; Konstantinos Gkoumas, Georgios Koutsias, Dimitrios Kaloskamis, Christos Almyras, Dimitrios Chatsidis, Charalampos Kostoulas.
Coach: Giannis Taousianis

Malta:
James Sissons; Kean Scicluna, Mattias Ellul, Sven Xerri, Andy Borg; Brooklyn Borg, Nicholas Agius, Tristan Viviani, Jake Micallef (C), Shaisen Attard; Kai Giyan Bartolo.
Coach: Davide Mazzotta

Referee: Claudio Pereira (Portugal)