Malta completed their group commitments in the World Development Tournament on a winning note after they had the better of Kuwait 9-7 in Tehran yesterday.

The win handed Karl Izzo’s men a place in today’s bronze medal play-off against Iran or Austria.

The Maltese were on the backfoot in the opening session, trailing 5-1. But gradually the team bridged the gap to 6-4 at the start of the final session.

Here, Malta took complete control as they won the final quarter 5-1 to complete a fine comeback.

“I was thrilled with the comeback of my boys after a very bad first session,” Izzo said.

“A strong defence and some well- taken goals gave us the victory.

“Kuwait played a very physical, tough match but our players, including the U-17 ones, did well to keep control of their nerves.

“I must mention the great leadership skills of our team captain Edward Aquilina and excellent performances for Alex Attard, Nicholas Bugelli and Ryan Sciortino in goal.”

Attard was Malta’s leading scorer after netting a hat-trick.