Malta women's national football team

Malta
Association	Malta Football Association
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Manuela Tesse
Captain	Emma Lipman
Most caps	Dorianne Theuma (118)
Top scorer	Dorianne Theuma (26)
Home stadium	Centenary Stadium
FIFA code	MLT
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	88 (11 December 2025)
Highest	74 (August 2003)
Lowest	115 (October 2007)
First international
	Romania 3–0 Malta ; (Bucharest, Romania; 10 August 2003)
Biggest win
	Malta 6–0 Luxembourg ; (Ta' Qali, Malta; 6 April 2013)
Biggest defeat
	Malta 0–13 Spain ; (Ta' Qali, Malta; 9 September 2009)

The Malta women's national football team (Maltese: Tim nazzjonali tal-futbol ta' Malta tan-nisa) represents the Malta Football Association in international women's football matches sanctioned by UEFA.^[2]

History

The team first appeared in official competitions in the 2005 European Championship's qualifying, debuting on August 10, 2003 in Bucharest with a 3–0 loss to Romania. Malta lost all eight games in the qualifiers, scoring once and conceding 35 goals. The team's first goal was scored by Sarah Caruana on November 16, 2003, against Croatia in a match played at the Gozo Stadium.^[3]

After 13 losses, Malta achieved its first draw on June 7, 2006 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last match of the 2007 World Cup's qualifying. The team played in the 2011 World Cup's qualifying, losing all games including a record 0–13 defeat to Spain. On March 3, 2011, Malta won an official match for the first time in the 2013 European Championship qualifying's preliminary round, beating Georgia 1–0 with a goal by D'Agostino in injury time.

On April 6, 2013 Malta beat Luxembourg 6–0 in the 2015 World Cup qualifying's preliminary round. The team also defeated Latvia and drew with Albania to top the group and make it past a preliminary round for the first time.^[4]

The team was coached from its foundation until 2014 by Pierre Brincat, and then from 2015 till 2022 by former U19 coach Mark Gatt.^[5] Former Italian international Manuela Tesse was appointed as the head coach from 1 January 2023^[6]

Team image

Home stadium

The Malta women's national team play their home matches at the Centenary Stadium.

Overall official record

Competition	Stage	Result	Opponent	Position	Scorers
2005 Euro qualifying	Regular stage (Class B)	0–3 0–8 0–1 0–2 0–3 1–4 0–9 0–5	Romania Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Ireland	5 / 5	Caruana
2007 World Cup qualifying	Regular stage (Class B)	1–4 0–1 1–4 1–3 0–1 1–1	Croatia Slovenia Bosnia and Herzegovina	4 / 4	D'Agostino Theuma, Tonna Theuma
2009 Euro qualifying	Preliminary round	0–0 2–4 0–8	Lithuania Luxembourg Slovakia	4 / 4	Carabott 2
2011 World Cup qualifying	Regular stage	0–13 0–9 0–8 0–6 0–2 0–6 0–2 1–5	Spain England Austria Turkey	5 / 5	N. Pace
2013 Euro qualifying	Preliminary round	1–0 0–2 1–1	Georgia Faroe Islands Armenia	2 / 4	D'Agostino Cuschieri
2015 World Cup qualifying	Preliminary round	1–1 6–0 2–0	Albania Luxembourg Latvia	1 / 4	Theuma Theuma 2, Buttigieg, Carabott, Cuschieri, Xuereb Cuschieri, Theuma
2015 World Cup qualifying	Regular stage	0–2 0–2 0–5 0–8 0–3 0–5 0–11 0–5 0–8 0–5	Israel Denmark Serbia Switzerland Iceland	6 / 6

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win Draw Lose Fixture

2024

29 November Friendly	Malta	1-3	Hungary	Ta' Qali, Malta
14:00	Bugeja ??'		Zeller 33', 55' ?? 71', .og'	Stadium: Centenary Stadium

3 December Friendly	Malta	1-1	Hungary	Ta' Qali, Malta
14:00	Bugeja 53'		Csizar 46'	Stadium: Centenary Stadium

2025

21 February 2025 UEFA Nations League C	Cyprus	2–1	Malta	Larnaca, Cyprus
18:00 (19:00 EEST)	Violari 33' Constantinou 37'	Report	Papadopoulou 51' (o.g.)	Stadium: AEK Arena Attendance: 180 Referee: Emily Heaslip (England)

25 February 2025 UEFA Nations League C	Malta	1–0	Andorra	Ta' Qali
19:30	Zammit 11'	Report		Stadium: Centenary Stadium Attendance: 612 Referee: Teresa Oliveira (Portugal)

4 April 2025 UEFA Nations League C	Georgia	2–3	Malta	Tbilisi, Georgia
17:00 (19:00 GET)	Bakradze 59' Danelia 90+6' (pen.)	Report	Farrugia 27', 44' Bugeja 30'	Stadium: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium Attendance: 853 Referee: Elvira Nurmustafina (Kazakhstan)

8 April 2025 UEFA Nations League C	Malta	2–1	Georgia	Ta' Qali, Malta
19:00	Cuschieri 39' Bugeja 60' (pen.)	Report	Kalandadze 84'	Stadium: Centenary Stadium Attendance: 620 Referee: Cansu Tryak (Türkiye)

30 May 2025 UEFA Nations League C	Malta	1–0	Cyprus	Ta' Qali
19:00	Bugeja 42'	Report		Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 1,205 Referee: Sabina Bolić (Croatia)

3 June 2025 UEFA Nations League C	Andorra	0–0	Malta	Encamp
19:00		Report		Stadium: Estadi de la FAF Attendance: 470 Referee: Satu Miettunen (Finland)

25 October Friendly	Malta	0–2	Belarus	Ta' Qali, Malta
20:30		Report	Shlapakova 54' Shuppo (90+8), .pen'	Stadium: National Stadium, Ta' Qali

28 October Friendly	Malta	0–1	Belarus	Ta' Qali, Malta
21:00		Report	Olkhovik 39'	Stadium: National Stadium, Ta' Qali Referee: Joanna Vassalo (Malta).

28 November 2025 (2025-11-28) Friendly	Malta	3–2	Croatia	Ta' Qali, Malta
	Cuschieri 15' Saliba 82' Fareugia 84'		Kurkutovic 50' Rudelic 51'	Stadium: Centenary Stadium

1 December Friendly	Malta	0–3	Croatia	Ta' Qali, Malta
			Maja Joščak 42' Ivana Rudelić 48' Karla Kurkutović 76'	Stadium: Centenary Stadium

2026

3 March 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Turkey

v

Malta

Turkey

7 March 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Malta

v

Switzerland

Malta

14 April 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Northern Ireland

v

Malta

Northern Ireland

18 April 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Malta

v

Northern Ireland

Malta

5 June 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Switzerland

v

Malta

Switzerland

9 June 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Malta

v

Turkey

Malta

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Position	Name	Ref.
Head coach	Manuela Tesse	[1]
Assistant coach	Dionne Tonna	[2]
Physical coach	Karl Attard	[3]

Coaching history

As of 23 December 2023

Manager	Malta career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Pierre Brincat	2003–2014	60	11	8	41	018.3
Mark Gatt	2015–2022	66	23	13	30	034.8
Manuela Tesse	2023–Present	10	8	1	1	080.0

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the Friendly matches against Croatia on 28 November and 1 December 2025. ^[7]

Caps and goals correct as of 28 October 2025, after the match against Belarus.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Giulia D'Antuono	(2003-12-31) 31 December 2003	4	0	Hibernians
12	1GK	Maya Cachia	(2004-12-23) 23 December 2004	4	0	Hibernians
23	1GK	Patricia Ebejer	(2000-02-23) 23 February 2000	12	0	Mġarr United

2	2DF	Jessica Dimech	(2002-06-22) 22 June 2002	8	0	Hibernians
3	2DF	Oceane Grange	(1995-09-24) 24 September 1995	7	0	RC Roubaix Wervicq
4	2DF	Emma Lipman (captain)	(1989-02-23) 23 February 1989	42	1	Genoa
5	2DF	Stephania Farrugia	(1991-09-11) 11 September 1991	105	5	Birkirkara
6	2DF	Georgiana Mifsud	(2004-02-14) 14 February 2004	1	0	Hibernians
11	2DF	Alexandra Gatt	(2004-10-13) 13 October 2004	3	0	Hull City Ladies
13	2DF	Maya Lucia	(2003-07-06) 6 July 2003	14	0	AP Orlen Gdańsk
15	2DF	Tammy Falzon	(2005-08-05) 5 August 2005	1	0	Swieqi United
16	2DF	Leanne Cefai	(2000-02-22) 22 February 2000	1	0	Mġarr United
18	2DF	Emma Xuereb	(1992-01-05) 5 January 1992	86	4	Swieqi United
22	2DF	Rebecca Bajada	(1994-12-22) 22 December 1994	20	0	Mġarr United
	2DF	Maia Debono	(2001-11-07) 7 November 2001	3	0	Mġarr United
	2DF	Jade Schembri	(1999-05-08) 8 May 1999	1	0	Swieqi United

7	3MF	Amber Grech	(1995-11-10) 10 November 1995	11	0	Hibernians
8	3MF	Rachel Cuschieri (vice-captain)	(1992-04-26) 26 April 1992	109	15	Genoa
14	3MF	Shona Zammit	(1996-06-15) 15 June 1996	90	7	Swieqi United
20	3MF	Nicole Sciberras	(2001-04-28) 28 April 2001	54	0	Hibernians
	3MF	Brenda Borg	(1997-05-01) 1 May 1997	79	5	Mġarr United
	3MF	Sarah Urpani	(2000-06-21) 21 June 2000	0	0	Swieqi United
	3MF	Michaela Cachia	(2005-08-25) 25 August 2005	0	0	Swieqi United

9	4FW	Kailey Willis	(2003-05-18) 18 May 2003	24	3	Venezia
10	4FW	Maria Farrugia	(2001-01-09) 9 January 2001	57	11	Bristol City
17	4FW	Leah Ayres	(2003-11-22) 22 November 2003	7	0	Hibernians
19	4FW	Yulya Carella	(2005-03-30) 30 March 2005	7	0	Mġarr United
	4FW	Sara Saliba	(2007-03-26) 26 March 2007	1	0	Swieqi United

Recent call-ups

The following players were called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Janice Xuereb	(1996-08-01) 1 August 1996	73	0	Birkirkara	v. Andorra, 3 June 2025
GK	Christiana Pisani	(2003-09-19) 19 September 2003	0	0	Lija Athletic	v. Hungary, 3 December 2024

DF	Valentina Rapa	(2002-02-14) 14 February 2002	7	0	Swieqi United	v. Belarus, 28 October 2025
DF	Mariah Cardona ^PRE	(2003-12-14) 14 December 2003	1	0	Birkirkara	v. Belarus, 25 October 2025
DF	Fiona Buttigieg ^PRE	(1998-07-18) 18 July 1998	4	0	Luton Town	v. Belarus, 25 October 2025
DF	Charlene Zammit	(1991-01-18) 18 January 1991	105	2	Birkirkara	v. Andorra, 3 June 2025
DF	Abigail Camilleri	(1993-09-11) 11 September 1993	1	0	Mġarr United	v. Hungary, 3 December 2024

MF	Gabriella Zahra ^RET	(1991-05-02) 2 May 1991	61	1	Birkirkara	v. Belarus, 25 October 2025
MF	Jana Barbara ^PRE	(2001-07-07) 7 July 2001	2	0	FC Schalke 04	v. Belarus, 25 October 2025
MF	Ann-Marie Said	(1994-07-02) 2 July 1994	52	0	Mġarr United	v. Andorra, 3 June 2025

FW	Haley Bugeja	(2004-05-05) 5 May 2004	42	24	Inter Milan	v. Belarus, 28 October 2025
FW	Lexine Farrugia	(2007-07-06) 6 July 2007	6	0	Roma	v. Andorra, 3 June 2025
FW	Alishia Sultana	(1997-04-09) 9 April 1997	61	2	Birkirkara	v. Georgia, 8 April 2025
FW	Jade Flask	(1996-08-04) 4 August 1996	67	7	Swieqi United	v. Andorra, 25 February 2025
FW	Ylenia Carabott	(1989-03-02) 2 March 1989	97	20	London Seaward	v. Hungary, 3 December 2024
Notes (appended to Name) ^INJ = Withdrew due to injury ^PRE = Preliminary squad / on stand-by ^RET = Retired from national team

Captains

Dorianne Theuma (????–????)
Emma Lipman (????–)

Records

*Active players in bold, statistics correct as of 9 August 2025.

Most capped players

Below is a list of the 10 players with the most caps for Malta.

#	Player	Period	Caps	Goals
1	Dorianne Theuma	2003–2024	118	26
2	Rachel Cuschieri	2007–present	107	15
3	Charlene Zammit	2009–present	105	2
4	Stephania Farrugia	2007–present	103	5
5	Ylenia Carabott	2005–present	97	20
6	Shona Zammit	2014–present	88	7
7	Emma Xuereb	2009–present	84	4
8	Brenda Borg	2013–present	79	5
9	Janice Xuereb		73	0
10	Jade Flask	2014–present	67	7

Top goalscorers

#	Player	Year(s)	Goals	Caps
1	Dorianne Theuma	2003-2024	26	118
2	Haley Bugeja	2020–present	24	40
3	Ylenia Carabott	2007–present	20	97
4	Rachel Cuschieri	2009–present	15	107
5	Maria Farrugia	2019–present	11	55
6	Jade Flask	2014–present	7	67
6	Shona Zammit	2014–present	7	88
8	Brenda Borg	2013–present	5	79
8	Stephania Farrugia	2013–present	5	103
10	Emma Xuereb	2009–present	4	84

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
FIFA Women's World Cup record									Qualification record
1991	Did not enter								UEFA Euro 1991
1995									UEFA Euro 1995
1999									Did not enter
2003									Did not enter
2007	Did not qualify								6	0	1	5	4	14	−10
2011									8	0	0	8	1	51	−50
2015									13	2	1	10	9	56	−47
2019									3	1	1	1	3	2	+1
2023									8	2	1	5	6	17	−11
2027	To be determined								To be determined
2031	To be determined								To be determined
2035	To be determined								To be determined
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	38	5	1	29	23	140	−117

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship

Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	Rnk
UEFA Women's Championship record								Qualifying record
1984	Did not enter							Did not enter
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
2001
2005	Did not qualify							8	0	0	8	1	35	–
2009								3	0	1	2	2	12
2013								3	1	1	1	2	3
2017								3	2	0	1	9	8
2022								10	3	1	6	11	30
2025								6	0	1	5	2	10	^[a]	30th
2029	To be determined							To be determined
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	27	6	3	18	25	88	30th

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Year	League	Group	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	Rnk
2023–24	C	1	1st	6	5	1	0	13	1		34th
2025	C	2	To be determined
Total				6	5	1	0	13	1	34th

	Promoted at end of season
	No movement at end of season
	Relegated at end of season
*	Participated in promotion/relegation play-offs

Notes

^ From Euro 2025 onwards a new qualifying format was introduced, linked to the Women's Nations League where teams are divided into leagues with promotion/relegation between the leagues at the end of each cycle.

References

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 11 December 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
^ "Malta – Women's". UEFA. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
^ Duret, Sébastien; Morrison, Neil (19 June 2005). "European Women Championship 2005 – Match Details". RSSSF. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
^ Aquilina, Domenic (18 April 2013). "Malta proud to make history". UEFA. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
^ Lia, Gianluca (8 February 2015). "Interview with Malta women's national team head coach Mark Gatt". Women's Soccer United. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
^ "MANUELA TESSE IS THE NEW NATIONAL WOMEN'S TEAM HEAD COACH". Malta Football Association. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
^ "Malta Women Set For Double Friendly Against Croatia As Preparations Begin For 2026 League B2 Campaign". Malta Football Association. 23 November 2025.

External links

Official website Archived 5 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine (in English)
The Sporting Fan
FIFA profile

[8] From Euro 2025 onwards a new qualifying format was introduced, linked to the Women's Nations League where teams are divided into leagues with promotion/relegation between the leagues at the end of each cycle.

[FIFA_Women's_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 11 December 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.

[2] "Malta – Women's". UEFA. Retrieved 23 June 2017.

[3] Duret, Sébastien; Morrison, Neil (19 June 2005). "European Women Championship 2005 – Match Details". RSSSF. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 23 June 2017.

[4] Aquilina, Domenic (18 April 2013). "Malta proud to make history". UEFA. Retrieved 23 June 2017.

[5] Lia, Gianluca (8 February 2015). "Interview with Malta women's national team head coach Mark Gatt". Women's Soccer United. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2017.

[6] "MANUELA TESSE IS THE NEW NATIONAL WOMEN'S TEAM HEAD COACH". Malta Football Association. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2023.

[7] "Malta Women Set For Double Friendly Against Croatia As Preparations Begin For 2026 League B2 Campaign". Malta Football Association. 23 November 2025.

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Malta national football team
General	Malta Football Association History Managers All-time record
Players	Players Captains Other categories
Matches	Spain 12–1 Malta (1983)
Results	1957–1979 1980–1999 2000–2019 2020–present
Other teams	U21 team U19 team U17 team Women Futsal Beach soccer Amateur team

National women's football teams of Europe (UEFA)
Active	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
Defunct	Czechoslovakia East Germany Serbia and Montenegro Soviet Union Yugoslavia
Other	Great Britain Vatican City

History

Team image

Home stadium

Overall official record

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

2026

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

Recent call-ups

Captains

Records

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Nations League

See also

Notes

References

External links