Former footballer David Carabott believes that Malta's home crowd at the Ta' Qali Stadium may act as their 12th man and prevent England from winning their third straight Euro 2024 qualifying match on Friday.
The 122-cap veteran has a dubious claim to be Malta's only ever scored against England when his penalty during a friendly in the capital Valetta, 23 years ago, rebounded in off goalkeeper Richard Wright.
The goal, which tied the little Mediterranean island nation after Martin Keown had scored for Kevin Keegan's team, is officially credited to former Ipswich goalkeeper Wright, who was playing for his country for the first time.
In the 88th minute, Carabott had another opportunity to further cement his place in his nation's annals by converting a second penalty kick for an unexpected tie, but this time Wright made a stop with his feet.
Even though England won 2-1 thanks to a goal from Emile Heskey, their Euro 2000 warm-up schedule came to a disappointing conclusion as they labored against a country with a population of fewer than 500,000.
Carabott, who officially ended his international career in 2005 as the third-highest scorers for the nation with 12 goals, believes that Malta has improved in the more than 20 years since England almost edged them out and that they have the grit to frustrate Gareth Southgate's group.
How I can
"We now have a fans group that significantly improves us at home, and the stadium will be a benefit to us. It might be the twelfth man.
Malta is currently rated 172nd in the FIFA rankings, between Bermuda and Moldova, but like many other tiny European teams, they have improved their level of competition since the Nations League's debut in 2018.
After putting up a valiant effort against Euro 2020 qualifiers North Macedonia in Skopje, where they ultimately lost 2-1, they lost 2-0 to Italian champions at the Ta' Qali Stadium in March.
The squad has followed other UEFA members' lead in searching abroad for excellent players who are eligible for citizenship in the hope that regular matches
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