MALTA              1

Mbong 56

RUSSIA            3

Dzyuba 23

Fernandes 35

Sobolev 89

MALTA

H. Bonello, K. Shaw, R. Camenzuli (86 J. Corbalan), S. Borg, M. Guillaumier, J. Mbong, L. Montebello (46 A. Satariano), A. Agius (88 K. Nwoko), T. Teuma, J. Degabriele (46 P. Mbong), B. Kristensen (74 S. Pisani).

RUSSIA

A. Shunin, M. Fernandes, V. Karavaev, A. Semenov, I. Akhmetov, D. Fomin (57 A. Miranchuk), G. Dzhikiya, A. Golovin, A. Ionov (57 R. Zhemaletdinov), A. Dzyuba (82 A. Sobolev), D. Kuzyaev (77 A. Mostovoi).

Referee Peter Kjaersgaard (Denmark FA).

Yellow cards Zhemaletdinov, Corbalan.

Russia scored two goals midway through the first half that propelled them to a hard-fought victory over a battling Malta side in their opening World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium last night.

The Russians may have returned home with the three points in the bag, however, it was the Maltese players who earned all the plaudits with a combative display that surely has further rubberstamped the belief that our national team is growing in stature on the international scene.

In fact, Devis Mangia’s men took the field with a very positive mindset right from kick-off as the team continued where they left off following their bright showings in the UEFA Nations League trying to push forward each time they were in possession.

Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of The Times of Malta

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