In the UEFA U21 Championship - Qualification game on 26 September 2026, Northern Ireland U21 beat Malta U21 0:4. Match numbers: shots on target 2:8, corners 1:9.
Match report
Northern Ireland U21 defeated Malta U21 4:0 in the UEFA U21 Euro Qualification Group Stage on 26 September 2026. The result leaves the visitors third in the table with ten points from seven games, while Malta remain bottom with nothing to show from seven attempts.
And here's the thing about this match — it was decided early. Kearney opened the scoring in the thirty-first minute, and Patterson doubled the lead just before the interval. Malta had already lost Borg to a booking in the second minute, and by then the pattern was clear. Patterson added a second in the sixty-third, and McCann made it four in the seventy-second. Three substitutions for Malta around the hour mark changed nothing.
The statistics tell a straightforward story. Northern Ireland recorded 115 attacks to Malta's 84, and eight shots on target against two. Possession sat at 59 per cent for the visitors. Malta managed only one corner and zero blocked shots — not because they were aggressive, but because they rarely got close enough to try.
Malta's record now reads zero wins, zero draws, seven defeats. They lost 0:6 to Germany in November, 0:5 to Greece, and 1:4 to Georgia. Northern Ireland's recent form is uneven — they lost 0:4 to Portugal in June and 0:3 to Germany in March, but they took three points from Latvia in March and held a win in November. This result keeps their qualification hopes alive.
By then it was over as a contest. Northern Ireland finished with nine corners and five blocked shots, showing they could sustain pressure. Malta's single corner and zero blocks said everything about their evening. Four goals, four yellow cards, and a match that needed only a few moments to be settled.
Prepared from match data
Key numbers
Possession, %41–59
Shots on target2–8
Shots off target3–5
Attacks84–115
HT🟨2' B. Borg — Yellow card🟨27' T. Wright — Yellow card🟨30' J. Briggs — Yellow card⚽31' S. Kearney — Goal⚽43' J. Patterson — Goal⇄46' B. Borg — Substitution⚽63' J. Patterson — Goal⇄65' S. Inwood — Substitution⇄65' C. Brannigan — Substitution🟨68' N. Cross — Yellow card⇄70' I. Chukunyere — Substitution⇄70' S. Attard — Substitution⇄70' K. Fenech — Substitution⚽72' B. McCann — Goal⇄78' M. Kirk — Substitution⇄78' J. Patterson — Substitution⇄78' E. Kenny — Substitution⇄82' A. Borg — Substitution
