Malta 0
Denmark 5
Making their first home appearance in World Cup qualifying Group 3, Malta succumbed to a 5-0 defeat against Denmark who underlined their credentials as one of the strongest teams on the continent.
Nils Nielsen’s girls were superior in all departments, inspired by the prolific Afghanistan–born forward Nadia Nadim who scored a brace for her adoptive country yesterday. At half-time, Denmark led 3-0.
It was always going to be a massive task for Malta as they were facing a nation ranked 12th in the world.
The Danes took just six minutes to forge ahead. Theresa Nielsen forced Janice Xuereb into a smart save but Sanne Troelsguard Nielsen was first to the rebound and fired the ball into the net.
After that early goal, the Maltese improved their defensive organ-isation and as a result, the visitors were finding it more difficult to find gaps in their opponents’ half.
However, in the 26th minute, Denmark made it 2-0 with a fine strike by Nadim who placed the ball into the low corner of the net.
Malta’s heads went down and Pernille Harder was on target after 33 minutes.
Nadim floated a cross from the right and Johanna Rasmussen headed the ball into the path of Harder who flashed in to stab home.
Pierre Brincat’s half-time talk must have had the desired effect as his players responded with a better display after the break.
They kept their opponents at bay until the 65th minute when Nadim unleashed a swerving shot past Xuereb.
Five minutes from time, two of Denmark’s late substitutes combined well to seal an emphatic victory. Annika Hansen delivered a perfect cross into the path of Karoline Nielsen who headed past Xuereb.
Malta: J. Xuereb, R. D’Agostino, C. Zammit, S. Farrugia, G. Zahra (88 R. Chircop), K. Parnis, A. Sammut, R. Cuschieri (46 D. Tonna), Y. Carabott, D. Theuma, N. Buttigieg (61 E. Xuereb).
Denmark: C. Sorenson, R. Hansen, S. Jensen, A. Jensen, S. Pederson (60 K. Nielsen), T. Nielsen, S. Nielsen (72 A. Hansen), N. Christansen (80 M. Jansi), P. Harder, N. Nadim, J. Rasmussen.
Referee: Sofia Karagiorgi (Cyprus FA).
Other result (Group 3): Israel vs Serbia 3-1.
Standings: Switzerland (3-0-0) 9; Israel (2-0-0) 6; Denmark (1-1-1) 4; Iceland (1-0-1) 3; Serbia (0-1-3) 1; Malta (0-0-2) 0.