Match report
Malta held to 1-1 draw by Gibraltar in Nations League clash
Malta were held to a 1-1 draw by Gibraltar at Ta'Qali National Stadium in a UEFA Nations League League D fixture on matchday three. The game remained goalless at half-time before two goals in quick succession settled into a share of the points that kept Malta top of League D Group 1 on four points from two matches.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Joseph Mbong broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute, finishing from an assist by Ilyas Chouaref to put Malta ahead. Gibraltar responded just eight minutes later, James Scanlon levelling matters in the 61st minute to make it 1-1, and neither side found a further breakthrough as the scoreline held to the final whistle.
Malta dominated possession with 62 percent of the ball and produced 17 shots to Gibraltar's 9, five of them on target compared with two for the visitors, though referee Antoni Bandić had plenty to manage amid 16 fouls committed by the home side and three yellow cards shown to Malta's players.
James Scanlon struck Gibraltar's equaliser and earned the highest rating on the pitch at 7.64, while Joseph Mbong's opener for Malta was not far behind at 7.58.
Malta's dominance was underlined by a 62 percent share of possession against Gibraltar's 38 percent.
Malta and Gibraltar drew 1–1 (half-time 0–0).
Malta met Gibraltar in the UEFA Nations League (League D - 3). Kick-off was Thursday, 1 October 2026, 18:45 UTC at Ta'Qali National Stadium. Referee: Antoni Bandić.
Team pages: Malta · Gibraltar · UEFA Nations League
Key moments
- 53' Goal: Joseph Mbong (assist: Ilyas Chouaref) — 1–0
- 61' Goal: James Scanlon — 1–1
Starting line-ups
Malta (4-2-3-1)
Gibraltar (4-1-4-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Malta 72%, the draw 15%, Gibraltar 13%. It finished Malta 1–1 Gibraltar.
Malta's rating gap decides it — Malta are clearly the stronger side on our strength rating, and that is most of Malta's 72%. The draw at 15% is down from the usual 16.6% for a gap this size, as small adjustments add up.
Why Malta at 72%?
Malta sit 254 points higher on our strength rating — 1291 to 1037. Sides with a more than 240-point rating edge at home won 79.0% of 5,563 such games. The 300 most similar past games finished 68–17–15.
Why not higher?
No scored evidence points the other way. 72% is what this rating gap has been worth in games like these; the rest is the draw at 15% and Gibraltar at 13%.
Why is the draw only 15%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 16.6%. These teams' recent games average 3.2 goals — a high-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 23.2% of 16,776. The goals environment takes 1.4 points off the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Malta have averaged 14 percentage points more possession than Gibraltar in recent games. That doesn’t change our forecast here. Malta on 7 days' rest, Gibraltar on 4. Once class is accounted for, rest gaps stopped mattering — across 41,839 measured games no rest advantage repeated. The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Malta vs Gibraltar final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this UEFA Nations League fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Malta 1–1 Gibraltar. Explore more on the Malta and Gibraltar team pages or the UEFA Nations League page.