Malta edges past Andorra on early second-half strike from Teuma

It took just three minutes of the second half to break open a game that had been stuck at 0-0. Teddy Teuma popped up in the middle of the box, struck a right-footed shot off an assist from Ilyas Chouaref, and made it 1-0 in the 48th minute. That goal, combined with the defense Malta held together for the rest of the match, was enough to secure all three points against Andorra at Ta' Qali National Stadium in the UEFA Nations League.

The first half had been an even exchange, with more attempts than clear-cut chances. Joseph Mbong gave an early warning in the first minute with a shot that went just wide of the post, and Andorra answered in kind: Berto Rosas tried his luck from outside the box, Pau Babot headed one just before the quarter-hour mark, and in an Andorra sequence right around the 21st minute, Guillaume López rattled the crossbar with a header off a cross from Álex Martínez. That was probably the clearest chance of the entire first half, and Andorra couldn't make it count. Teuma also had a look before the break, firing a shot over the bar. With all that back and forth, the score was still level when the referee sent both sides to the locker room.

A substitution and a goal change the second half

Malta came out of the break with one change (Gabriel Mentz on for Enrico Pepe), and just three minutes later came the payoff: the combination between Chouaref and Teuma broke the deadlock. Andorra tried to respond right away through Berto Rosas and Guillaume López, both testing the home goalkeeper with shots he managed to turn away, but they couldn't find a way past Malta's defense. For its part, Malta created more chances through Ilyas Chouaref, who rattled the crossbar's corner with a shot in the 79th minute, and through substitutes Paul Mbong and Zach Muscat, though the lead stayed at one goal. The match wound down in a string of fouls and yellow cards (Ot Remolins, Arón Rodrigo, Alexander Satariano and Christian García were all booked) until the referee called for three minutes of stoppage time, and with that, the final whistle.

What the numbers show

Malta controlled the ball more and was sharper in front of goal, though the overall shot count ended up even.

The estimated xG based on the match's shots gave Malta 1.115 and Andorra 0.814, a gap that matches the team that ultimately took the result, though not by a wide margin.

The preview had projected a clear edge for Malta: a 64% chance of a home win, 26% for a draw and just 10% for Andorra, with expected goals of 1.61 to 0.49. The final result ended up tighter than those numbers suggested, a narrow 1-0 scoreline against a forecast that had imagined a more decisive match for the home side, though the win itself confirmed the trend we had anticipated.

What it means in the standings

In Group D1, Malta moved to 7 points from 3 matches played, with 2 wins and 1 draw, keeping up that run of positive results on home soil. Andorra, meanwhile, stayed at 1 point after 3 matches, one win short of what it needed to climb the table, and the gap between the two sides now stands at 6 points. It was a hard-fought win for Malta, which managed the slim lead from the start of the second half all the way to the final whistle.