Malta prepared for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Slovenia in style today when it beat Ukraine 1-0 in a friendly at the Mercur Arena in Graz.

Defender Zach Muscat scored the all-important goal with a fine header after he latched on to Alex Muscat’s curling cross after 13 minutes.

The Ukrainians dominated possession throughout but they rarely threatened the Malta goal.

Instead, it was Malta who could have added a second goal when Alfred Effiong fired just wide on 37 minutes.

Two minutes from the break, Andre Schembri was upended in the area by Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov but the referee waved play on.

 

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