Malta 0
Denmark 3

The Malta U-19 team succumbed to their second defeat in the UEFA Championship mini-tournament after going down 3-0 to Denmark at the Tedesco Stadium yesterday.

Mikkel Duelund was the catalyst of Denmark’s victory yesterday as the 18-year-old striker grabbed a brace to keep his team’s bid to qualify for the Elite Round on track.

The Danes quickly seized the initiative and their pressure produced an opener on 21 minutes, Duelund converting a penalty.

Malta tried to hit back but had to wait until seven minutes from half-time for their first notable chance. Aidan Friggieri’s shot was pushed away by Denmark goalkeeper Daniel Iversen.

The Danes all but wrapped up the match with two goals in the space of a minute early in the second half.

On the hour, Mads Thychosen doubled Denmark’s lead and, barely a minute later, the Maltese boys conceded again when Duelund made it 3-0.

Friggieri and Kyrian Nwoko had the best chances to pull one back for Malta but the Danes held on for a comfortable win.

In the other Group Six game yesterday, Israel, who opened their commitments with a 3-1 win over Malta, hammered Iceland 4-1 to secure their place in the Elite Round as they stayed top of the pool with six points.

Denmark, second on four points, need a point from their last match against Israel on Sunday to join them in the next stage of the competition while Malta are out of contention.

Malta: T. Aquilina, D. Buckle, J. Borg (46 J. Vella), C. Zammit, M. Guillaumier, J. Grech, J. Corbalan, D. Xuereb, A. Friggieri, Z. Brincat (59 K. Nwoko), J. Mbong (84 J. Walker).

Final fixtures
Sunday: (Hibs Stadium) 14.00 Malta vs Iceland; (Tedesco Stadium) 14.00 Denmark vs Israel.

Standings: Israel 6; Denmark 4; Iceland 1; Malta 0.