{"id":56821,"date":"2026-04-14T12:28:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=56821"},"modified":"2026-04-14T12:28:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:28:27","slug":"malta-women-ready-for-northern-ireland-test-in-uefa-european-qualifiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/14\/malta-women-ready-for-northern-ireland-test-in-uefa-european-qualifiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Malta Women ready for Northern Ireland test in UEFA European Qualifiers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Malta Women\u2019s National Team are set to take on Northern Ireland in tomorrow\u2019s UEFA European Qualifiers fixture, with Head Coach Manuela Tesse leading her side into an important away test.<\/p>\n<p>The match will be played on Northern Irish soil at Mourneview Park in Lurgan with kick-off scheduled for 20:00hrs CET. The match will be live on TVMSport+.<\/p>\n<p>Following their recent preparations, Malta arrive in camp focused and determined to continue building on their performances at international level. The squad has been working intensively in the lead-up to the encounter, with particular emphasis on tactical discipline, organisation and maintaining the strong unity that has characterised recent outings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"h2pMV\">\n<div class=\"richtext\">\n<p>However, preparations have been dealt a setback, with midfielder Lexine Farrugia sustaining an injury in training that will rule her out of the match.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking ahead of the match, Manuela Tesse emphasised the importance of concentration and adaptability against a well-structured opponent, noting that sustained focus will be essential for Malta to reduce the lapses that led to avoidable goals in the opening matches.<\/p>\n<p>Malta will be aiming to put in a solid performance against a competitive Northern Ireland side, using the match as another opportunity to test themselves at this level and continue their development in League B.<\/p>\n<p>Experienced player Rachel Cuschieri highlighted the challenge ahead while expressing confidence in Malta\u2019s ability to compete:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a difficult game. \u00a0We know the qualities of Northern Ireland, but we also believe in our own strengths. We\u2019re confident that we can give them a good game and make it difficult for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The team remains committed to representing the country with pride, determination and a strong collective spirit as they take to the pitch tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>Source: MFA<\/p>\n<p>Photo: MFA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"C1zkG\" role=\"complementary\">\n<div class=\"Hn2Ar\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"kt8ch\">\n<div class=\"YEDX8\">\n<div class=\"b83mh\">\n<div class=\"O39Ls Ek1C9\">\n<div class=\"Qk1ET HsCB2\">\n<div class=\"jAvUy yFo4I\">\n<div class=\"RzpSr\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"O39Ls Ek1C9\">\n<div class=\"Qk1ET HsCB2\">\n<div class=\"jAvUy yFo4I\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"O39Ls Ek1C9\">\n<div class=\"Qk1ET HsCB2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_56821\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"56821\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Malta Women\u2019s National Team are set to take on Northern Ireland in tomorrow\u2019s UEFA European Qualifiers fixture, with Head Coach Manuela Tesse leading her side into an important away test. The match will be played on Northern Irish soil at Mourneview Park in Lurgan with kick-off scheduled for 20:00hrs CET. The match will be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_56821\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"56821\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-56821","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local","7":"category-world"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"td_0x420":false,"td_80x60":false,"td_218x150":false,"td_324x400":false,"td_696x0":false,"td_1068x0":false,"td_100x70":false,"td_265x198":false,"td_324x160":false,"td_324x235":false,"td_356x220":false,"td_356x364":false,"td_533x261":false,"td_534x462":false,"td_696x385":false,"td_741x486":false,"td_1068x580":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bernard Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The Malta Women\u2019s National Team are set to take on Northern Ireland in tomorrow\u2019s UEFA European Qualifiers fixture, with Head Coach Manuela Tesse leading her side into an important away test. The match will be played on Northern Irish soil at Mourneview Park in Lurgan with kick-off scheduled for 20:00hrs CET. The match will be&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56821"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56822,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56821\/revisions\/56822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}