Malta lose heavily to classy Spain in EURO 2020 qualifier

EURO 2020 QUALIFIERS – GROUP F15/11/2019, Estadio Ramon de Carranza, Cadiz,SPAIN     7MALTA    0(HT 2-0)As expected, the EURO 2020 away qualifier against Spain was tough for the Malta national team in Cadiz as the Group F leaders were in a class of their own to achieve an emphatic 7-0 victory. Spain, who have now secured top spot in Group F, applied immense pressure, creating several opportunities.  Defender Jurgen Pisani, 27, and 24-year-old midfielder Brandon Paiber were given their debut by Malta coach Ray Farrugia. Roma goalkeeper Pau Lopez made his debut for the hosts.In the 23rd minute, Spain took the lead. The Maltese defence partially cleared the ball after a corner and Gerard Moreno headed towards Alvaro Morata who nodded past Bonello from close range. The Maltese were forced to make an early change as, just after the half-hour mark, Juan Corbalan suffered an injury. He was replaced by Ħamrun Spartans defender Karl Micallef. The pressure on the Maltese rearguard increased and it was no surprise that Spain doubled their lead four minutes before the break. Moreno served Santi Cazorla who burst clear through the middle before beating Henry Bonello. BTen minutes after the restart, Sarabia could have added a third goal but his effort from just inside the box was saved on the goal line by Jonathan Caruana. A minute later, Moreno had another goal scoring opportunity with only Bonello to beat but his effort sailed inches wide. Just after the hour, Spain went 3-0 up. A corner from the left was headed by Alcacer towards another substitute, Pau Torres, who beat Bonello with a powerful header from close in.  Barely a minute later, the Maltese midfield lost the ball, with Moreno advancing towards the box before passing neatly to Sarabia who had the better of Bonello with an angled shot. Spain continued to push forward. Bonello saved an attempt of Dani Olmo from close in but in the 68th minute, substitute Olmo made up for that missed chance by scoring Spain’s fifth goal, rounding off another wonderful attack. Three minutes later, Juan Bernat crossed inch perfectly to the unmarked Moreno who added Spain’s sixth. Spain added their seventh goal on 85 minutes thanks to a rising shot from just outside the box by Jesus Navas. Earlier on Friday, Norway, Malta’s opponents next Monday at Ta’ Qali, beat the Faroe Islands 4-0 in Oslo while Romania lost at home 0-2 to Sweden. This win means that Sweden, as group runners-up, have also qualified for the EURO 2020 final tournament SPAINPau Lopez, Jesus Navas, Raul Albiol, Sergio Ramos (Pau Torres 61), Juan Bernat, Thiago Alcantara, Rodrigo Hernandez, Santi Cazorla (Paco Alcacer 53), Gerard Moreno, Alvaro Morata (Dani Olmo 66), Pablo Sarabia.Coach: Robert Moreno. MALTAHenry Bonello, Zach Muscat, Jurgen Pisani (Jake Grech 75), Andrei Agius, Jonathan Caruana, Dunstan Vella, Juan Corbalan (Karl Micallef 34), Joseph Mbong, Rowen Muscat (Triston Caruana 64), Brandon Paiber, Kyrian Nwoko.  Coach: Ray Farrugia Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)