National Team Friendly

National stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Estevam Moroño took the kick off in the first half of the match. After 3 played minutes Malta got a freekick which was hit by Nemanja Vidic. 6 minutes had been played when some careless play by Malta's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Solustiano Blea was slow to take the kick. During this time Uruguay's players had a chance to rest. A nice corner shot did that Solustiano Blea got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Leonardo Da Vinci quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. After 15 minutes, Estevam Moroño made it 0-1 with a short kick to the right side. Malta's Leonardo Da Vinci tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. Estevam Moroño sent away a hard shot on goal in the 18th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Leonardo Da Vinci took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Estevam Moroño, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Leonardo Da Vinci stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Estevam Moroño's shot from short distance in the 24th minute. In the 26th minute, Primitivo Grau ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Leonardo Da Vinci was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-2. With a little luck, Uruguay's Xove Tijerina got control of the ball when Daryl Mizzi tried to sneak it across the goal line. Antonio Navarro had several of the Uruguay's defenders around him in the penalty area when he, after 29 minutes of play, received a pass and succeeded in some way to shoot a shot which went straight ahead into goal. This resulted in a 1-2 score and a disappointed Xove Tijerina as he didn't even see the shot coming. After a rather tough play, Malta's Antonio Navarro got a free kick in the 37th minute. 41 minutes into the match, Malta's goal looked a bit too open when Estevam Moroño came free, but Leonardo Da Vinci reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Leonardo Da Vinci took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Estevam Moroño, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 44th minute, Giovanni Demicoli hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Antonio Navarro made a kick off. When %teams%'s Estevam Moroño was free in front of goal, he didn't hesitate to shoot 1-4 just inside the left pole, 60 minutes into the game. Leonardo Da Vinci was annoyed at himself for letting in the shot. Malta made a substitution. Edward Saliba replaced Giovanni Demicoli. After a rather tough play, Uruguay's Cordario Vivero got a free kick in the 68th minute. After 69 played minutes Uruguay got a freekick which was hit by Cordario Vivero. It was beautiful to see Malta's Edward Saliba in action when he in the 71st minute dribbled his way through a couple of opponents and the fired away a shot from almost standing still. First the ball seemed to get in, but turned out to be on the outside of the net. A great chance! If Rosario Cepa had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 72nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Leonardo Da Vinci showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Rosario Cepa, who was totally free with the ball in the 73rd minute. Berenguer Anda fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 75th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Leonardo Da Vinci having to interfere. Uruguay's Xove Tijerina played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Neil Degabriele in the 80th minute of play. After 83 played minutes Malta got a freekick which was hit by Brandon Gambin. After 84 minutes, Edward Saliba mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Malta and the Uruguay players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 84 played minutes Malta got a freekick which was hit by Edward Saliba. In the 90th minute of the match John Lennon shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Xove Tijerina showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. After 91 minutes of play Malta's Edward Saliba was too eager in his attempt to stop his opponent and brought him down. With that he got his second yellow card and was ordered off the ground. A collision led to Malta getting a freekick after 92 minutes play. Edward Saliba hit a great ball. In the 93rd match minute, Uruguay was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Rosario Cepa to maneuver through the defense. Leonardo Da Vinci made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Rosario Cepa in the 95th minute of play. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Uruguay eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.