Vibrant Malta U15 seal dramatic victory over Azerbaijan thanks to last-minute winner

UEFA UNDER-15 DEVELOPMENT TOURNAMENT
21.10.2026, Centenary Stadium

MALTA…1
AZERBAIJAN…0
(HT 0-0

90+2’ Maxim Gromov (MLT)

Malta sealed a dramatic 1-0 win over Azerbaijan in the second match of the UEFA Under-15 Development Tournament on Friday afternoon thanks to a very late penalty after a resilient display at the Centenary Stadium.

Malta started on the front foot, and four minutes into the game, Alexander Abela made a darting run down the left, before cutting it back to Edward Schembri, yet his effort was blocked and then cleared away. Two minutes later, Malta had another shot towards the Azerbaijan goal, with Zac Baldacchino Orland trying his luck from range, but his attempt went wide.

Azerbaijan grew into the half, and in the 20th minute, Imran Seyidbalyev received the ball in the Maltese penalty area, and he tried to lift it over Ryan James Zammit, but his effort went over the bar.

The match’s pace slowed down as the half wore on, with neither side really creating any major opportunities on goal, with possession being exchanged in midfield for large parts of the opening 45 minutes. As a result, the score remained goalless at the break.

Malta came out for the second half with a renewed sense of energy, and they came agonisingly close to taking the lead in the 50th minute. A free-kick from Alexander Abela was crossed into the penalty area, finding Schembri, but with his header he could only hit the post, before the ball was cleared away.

Azerbaijan pushed up the other end, and after a ball was cut back from the left, it fell to Huseyn Novruzlu, yet his strike was dragged just wide of the goal.

Malta continued on the attack, and 59 minutes into the match, Abela did excellently to skip past a challenge, before cutting it back to Schembri, who could not find the target with his first-time effort.

Zackary Diagne came very close to opening the scoring in the 68th minute, when substitute Shaylon Lanzon did excellently to go past two defenders, before finding the Maltese midfielder, who flicked the ball over an Azerbaijan defender, yet he then could not guide the ball into the back of the net.

Malta hit the woodwork again in the 86th minute, when a well-worked free-kick led to Alex Zammit cross deep from the left, finding Nedved Bonello, who hit a powerful left-footed strike that cannoned off the bar.

Right at the death, Noah Muscat was released with an excellent through ball, and just as he raced through on goal and tried to skip past the goalkeeper, he was brought down, and a penalty was awarded. Gromov stepped up to take it, and he curled it beautifully into the net, finally breaking the deadlock and sparking great celebrations from the home side.

Malta defended resolutely for the final few seconds, getting the win over the line after a resilient display.

Malta will be back in action on Monday 26th October when they face Latvia for the final match of the UEFA Development Tournament, kicking off at 10:00hrs.

MALTA
12 Ryan James Zammit (GK), 14 Zac Baldacchino Orland (2 Javier James, 62’), 16 Matthew Hyzler (3 Alex Zammit, 62’), 4 Elias Abdilla (C), 15 Jaan Caruana, 6 Zackary Diagne, 19 Jean Zammit (7 Shaylon Lanzon, 62’), 17 Craig Taylor (8 Nedved Bonello, 76’), 9 Maxim Gromov, 18 Edward Schembri (20 Jmii Zammit, 83’), 13 Alexander Abela (11 Noah Muscat, 62’)
Coach: Silvio Vella

AZERBAIJAN
12 Siraj Guluzade (GK), 14 Zeyd Chodarov (C), 15 Sanan Zeynalli, 16 Kanan Safiyev (3 Amal Shikhkarimzada, 46’), 4 Ravan Rustamov (2 Rasim Aliyev, 62’), 6 Muhammad Humbatzada (10 Aykhan Rustamli, 62’), 13 Huseyn Novruzlu (8 Kamil Badirkhanli, 76’), 20 Zafar Ibrahim (7 Nihat Baylarli, 46’), 19 Javid Allahverdi (11 Jabrayil Akbarov, 55’), 18 Onur Amirzade (5 Aykhan Aliyev, 76’), 17 Imran Seyidbalyev (9 Yusif Aghayev, 55’)
Coach: Aleksandr Gross

Referee: Kieron Haber

Yellow cards: Javid Allahverdi (AZE), Elias Abdilla (MLT), Muhammad Humbatzada (AZE), Amal Shikhkarimzada (AZE)