UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifier,
Group C
National Stadium
Ta'Qali, Malta
16 Jun 23
The official programme was available at the stadium so I took the plunge at 8 Euro and it proved to be a decent read. The programme had a feature with the headline 'The Match of the Century' referring to the time when Malta entertained England in 1971 as part of the 1972 Euro Qualifiers. The match was played on a gravel surface at the Empire Stadium in Gzira in front of over 30,000. The match played on 3 Feb 71 was the first of five encounters between the two nations and resulted in a 1:0 win to England. The return leg at Wembley on 12 May 71 saw the Three Lions win 5:0. The next game was nearly 30 years later when England faced the Maltese in a friendly on 3 Jun 2000 in Ta'Qali. This game was a warm up match for England's Euro 2000 campaign and also commemorated the centenary of the Maltese FA. The match itself ended in a narrow 2:1 victory with Heskey scoring the winner. We met again in World Cup qualification for Russia on 8 Oct 16, when on Gareth Southgate's management debut we scraped out a 2:0 win at Wembley. In the return fixture on 1 Sep 17, a meagre 17 years from our last visit the Three Lions claimed a 4:0 victory. I was lucky enough to have been in attendance at this game, although to be totally honest it is a bit of a blur.
The Record
Away: Played 3, Won 3, Lost 0, Drew 5
Home: Played 2, Won 2, Lost 0, Drew
Total: Played: 5, Won 5, Lost 0, Drew 0
A massive 7071 members registered their interest and as predicted the game was well over-subscribed. England had been allocated the sum of 4035 tickets so a ballot had to be conducted. The magic number of caps to secure a ticket in the first 70% was 18 and with 30 caps in the bag we were both a shoe in. The ticket cost was a reasonable 30 Euro but many travelling England fans were getting ripped off by touts selling tickets for the home sectors of the stadium
King Harry makes a well deserved appearance on the front cover of the 181st edition of the Free Lions. The Captain earned this right after becoming England's record goal scorer after scoring against the Italians in Naples
The National Stadium, Ta'Qali was built on the site of a former RAF base and hosted its first competitive match in 1981. It is located near the historic city of Mdina but it is not advisable to walk this route, so take a bus or taxi. The stadium houses the HQ of the Maltese FA and has a 16,997 capacity. This stadium together with 2 other Maltese stadiums (HIbernian's Stadium and Victor Tedesco Stadium) host the Maltese premier league.
Malta 0 England 4
Attendance: 16277
We met up with Mark and Mandy Thompson at Heathrow Terminal 4 prior to boarding the 2030 flight to Valetta on Air Malta. A few sherbets and then a very strange flight full of Party goers enroute to The island of Gozo
On arrival at the AirBnb just after 1 in the morning we were met by the host Michael and this was the first view that greeted us when we stepped out onto the balcony
Day 1: Birzebbuga and Marsaxlokk.
Good Morning Birzebbuga, Malta 😎
The Lady of the Castle
Our first stop is Marsaxlokk for a spot of lunch
Rock Fish, Sea Bream or Red Snapper?
Lunch at the Old Fisherman's Restaurant, Marsaxlokk
The harbour at Marsaxlokk
Marsaxlokk church was built in 1897 and is dedicated to Madonna of Pompeii.
British influence everywhere
After lunch we walked from Peter's Pool along the Bay of il Mofra z- Zghira and il Mofra i-Kbira taking in the sea caves
Sea caves in the distance
Video from the second bay
A very sweaty Steve after being chased by 3 very feisty guard dogs whose job it was to guard St Paul's Battery to stop trespassers like me😕
After all the shenanigans in the sun it is is back to Birzebbuga to chill in the pool
Cooling down in the infinity pool
To infinity and beyond
Blinkety Blink
View from Hesketh Tower
Sea or Pool?
Out on the town in Birzebugga
Watching footie in Palazz San Pietru
The monument in Birzebbuga commemorates the Malta Summit, a meeting between US president George H.W Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev between Dec 2-3 1989 which preceded the end of the cold war
Day 2: Ticket collection day (Valetta, Sliema and St Julian's)
The Ordnance Pub in Valetta with the landlord and former Maltese international football player, Carlo Seychell
Carlo played most of his football in Malta with Valetta FC, clocking up 22 international caps for Malta between 1972-79
Typical Valetta street
Outside 'The Pub' on Kingsway in Valetta; the site where iconic actor Oliver Reed died in 1999 after a heavy drinking session during the making of his last film Gladiator.
On his last night Oliver Reed is alleged to have downed over 8 pints of lager, 12 doubles and half a bottle of whisky, won an arm wrestling competition against many members of HMS Cumberland and insisted on paying for the entire round. He collapsed in the pub but before an ambulance arrived he had passed away. The pub is now a shrine to him.
Sliema to Valetta ferry
Balluta Parish Church on Balluta Bay, St Julian's
St Julian's Bay
The ticket collection hotel at the Corinthia, St George's Bay
Bay watch limbering up for duty
St George's Bay beach
Tequila Slammers at Hugo's Pub
Tommy Truman and Robbo, Sunlan'
Flag watch at the Alexandra Hotel
Derby at the Angels Gentlemen's Lounge, St Julians
Flag watch part 2
Day 3: Matchday (Iz Zetjun, St Julians, Ta'Qali) After a leisurely start to the day we head out on the search of one of the oldest churches in Malta
At last we found Old St Gregory's built in 1436 but couldn't take any decent photos as it was closed and fenced off
Next up St Julian's to get a bit of pre-match atmosphere
Sue doing Zoomies
Matchday cider
Matchday Tequila
After getting dropped off by our Bolt taxi we headed to the Millennium Stand for some refreshments
In the Party Zone
Fan Zone Malta style
Towards England's entrance
It's been 6 long years since I was last at this spot
Matchday hustle and bustle
England waz ere'
The North Stand
Suck in lad we're going through!
"There's England to the left,
and England to the right,
...with the Grantham Rams tonight"!
Malta in the South Stand, aka Curva Sud
The Millennium Stand in the East is the newest part of the stadium having first opened in 2003 and has 6 sky boxes and is home to the Maltese FA
The West Stand is also referred to as the Main Stand and is the only fully covered stand
Teams walking out
North Stand in the 2nd Half
West stand - 2nd half
Harry Kane's penalty
Flags in the North Stand
Day 4: Birzebbuga, relaxing with Pamela Anderson
If Malta did sandwiches!
View from the balcony
Time for a splash in the Med
Last supper at the Dar Is-Sajjied (Fishermen's Nest)
The exterior of the restaurant
Back home and final view of the Bay before bed
Day 5: After saying cheerio to Sue its off to Georgia (via Istanbul) to watch England U21 at the Euro Champs😎✌
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