Malta will welcome Finland to Ta' Qali National Stadium in their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign opener on Friday. Neither team have qualified for the group stage of the World Cup thus far.
The hosts have enjoyed a good run of form and are unbeaten in their last four games, recording three wins. They concluded their UEFA Nations League campaign with a goalless draw against Andorra and missed out on direct qualification to League C.
The visitors lost all six games in the league phase of the Nations League and have been relegated to League C. They failed to score in their last two games in November, suffering a 1-0 loss to the Republic of Ireland and losing 2-0 at home to Greece.
Ħomor are unbeaten in their last three competitive games, scoring two goals without conceding. They have registered just three wins in the World Cup qualifiers since their first appearance in the qualifiers in 1971.
The Eagle-owls have endured a poor run of form and have lost their last seven competitive games while conceding 17 goals. They have won four of their last 11 games in the World Cup qualifiers, with three wins registered in their travels.
There are no surprises in the squad selected by head coach Jacob Friis in his first game in-charge for the visitors. Teemu Pukki, Lukas Hradecky, Robert Ivanov, Joel Pohjanpalo, Benjamin Källman, and Glen Kamara are in the squad and should start here.
While Finland have been the dominant side in recent games in this fixture, their current form is a cause for concern. Malta, on the other hand, have recorded just one win in over 100 games in the World Cup qualifiers. With that in mind, a draw will likely ensue.
Prediction: Malta 1-1 Finland
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
Tip 4: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes