The Malta Under-15 National Team closed their UEFA Development Tournament campaign on a positive note, defeating Andorra 1–0 at the Centenary Stadium thanks to a decisive second-half goal from Andreas Mangion.

This was Malta’s third match in the tournament, following a 2–0 win against Liechtenstein on Thursday and a 2–2 draw with San Marino in their opening fixture on Tuesday, which Malta went on to win after a penalty shoot-out.

The young Maltese side showed good control and initiative throughout the first half, creating several chances while keeping Andorra under pressure. However, despite their dominance, they were occasionally exposed on the counter-attack and had to stay alert in defence.

Early on, Andorra’s Lucas Souza nearly capitalised on a defensive mistake, but the Malta backline recovered well to block his effort. At the other end, Andorra goalkeeper Martí Fernández was kept busy, notably pushing away a long-range effort from Isaac Montebello, and later producing fine stops to deny Enzo De Freitas Romão and Giuseppe Melarosa.

Malta goalkeeper Sheldon Xerri was called into action on 34 minutes, gathering a dangerous attempt from Iker Gonzalez before reacting sharply to divert a close-range effort from Andorra captain Marc Ber into a corner just before the interval.

Malta strike first

After the restart, Malta maintained their attacking rhythm. Within minutes, De Freitas Romão missed a clear opportunity to score, firing over the bar with only the goalkeeper to beat. Moments later, the breakthrough finally came — substitute Andreas Mangion found space on the edge of the area and beat Fernández with a precise angled shot in the 47th minute to give Malta the lead.

Mangion nearly doubled his tally shortly after, but his close-range effort from a Melarosa cross was deflected for a corner. The match then settled into a midfield battle, with both sides keeping possession but creating few clear chances. Late in the game, Andorra’s Sergi Vidal went close with a powerful shot that drifted wide, while Malta pressed for a second goal but were unable to extend their advantage before the final whistle.

The result capped off a strong tournament for the Maltese U15 side, who finished unbeaten with two wins and one draw, showing promise and progress at this developmental stage.

Match Statistics

Result: Malta 1–0 Andorra
Goal: 47’ Andreas Mangion (Malta)
Half-Time: 0–0

Malta:
12 Sheldon Xerri (GK) (1 Zack Pule’ 46’), 19 Lee Bonanno (16 Edward Pace 46’), 18 Luke Mifsud (7 Elijah Olorundare 86’), 17 Nathan Azzopardi (4 Nikolai Vella-Giordimaina 46’), 5 Zven Cutajar (C), 6 Isaac Montebello, 14 Yan Calleja (13 Kaisaac Vella-Brincat 46’), 15 Jan Grech (8 Jesmar Spiteri 61’), 20 Declan Roosevelt Zammit (20 Andreas Mangion 46’), 10 Giuseppe Melarosa, 11 Enzo De Freitas Romão (3 Andvic Inguanez 79’).
Coach: Jonathan Holland

Andorra:
13 Martí Fernández (GK) (1 Joan Caballol 50’), 2 Sergi Vidal, 22 Dani Gimeno (3 Bonifacio Perez 79’), 5 Jordi Puig Santamaria, 20 Pol de Visa Mas (23 Guillem Areny 46’), 6 Arnau Boixareu (15 Gorka da Silva Uvaldo 70’), 9 Marc Ber (C), 10 Jan Gonzalez (Hugo Casals 79’), 11 Lucas Sousa, 17 Alan Cunha (21 Nil Hernandez Alvarez 46’), 19 Iker Gonzalez (7 Max Rosell 70’).
Coach: Ion Rodriguez

Referee: Kieron Haber (Malta)