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Azerbaijan and Malta are set to face each other in an international friendly match at the Haladas Sportkomplexum in Hungary on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 02:00 WITA (Lombok time, NTB).

Both sides are preparing for the upcoming UEFA Nations League later this year, as neither team qualified for the World Cup.

Malta and Azerbaijan compete in League D of the UEFA Nations League, alongside other lower-ranked European nations, in a round-robin format where each team plays home and away matches.

Azerbaijan failed to qualify for the World Cup after finishing at the bottom of Group D in the UEFA qualifiers, failing to secure any points against France, Ukraine, and Iceland.

The Milli team has not played any friendly matches so far this year, but they will have a second fixture this month against San Marino on June 9.

Their UEFA Nations League campaign later this year will feature home-and-away matches against Lithuania and Liechtenstein.

Azerbaijan will need to find greater consistency if they hope to challenge these teams and improve their ranking and prospects in European football.

Meanwhile, Malta are also focusing on their preparations for the UEFA Nations League, where they will face Gibraltar and Andorra in League D, Group 1.

Malta recently played a friendly against Slovakia at the MOL Arena on Monday, losing 2-1 to the Falcons but coming close to securing a draw.

Slovakia took the lead nine minutes into the match through Lukas Haraslin, but Malta’s Joseph Mbong equalised in the 37th minute. It seemed the Knights would earn a rare away draw before Roland Galcik scored in the 97th minute to save Slovakia’s pride.

Head-to-Head: Azerbaijan vs Malta

• Malta and Azerbaijan have met nine times in the past, with the Knights leading with four wins and two draws.
• The Milli team have beaten Malta twice, though their last victory came back in 2015.
• The most recent meeting between these two teams was in 2022, where Malta claimed a 1-0 win at home.

Team News: Azerbaijan vs Malta

From the squad that impressed against Saint Lucia, Rza Cafarov and Elvin Cafarquilyev are absent for Azerbaijan.

As a result, goalkeeper Salahat Agayev and left winger Toral Bayramov could be brought in as replacements.

Although he has yet to score for Motor Lublin, former Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Renat Dadashov is expected to lead the line as he aims to climb to joint-fifth on Azerbaijan’s all-time top scorers list.

On the Malta side, coach De Leo may opt for minimal changes to his lineup after making several substitutions at halftime against Slovakia.

Joseph Mbong scored his fourth international goal in 73 appearances during that match before being replaced by his younger brother, Paul Mbong.

Kurt Shaw and Matthew Guillaumier could be rested after playing 94 minutes each against Slovakia.

Predicted Line-ups: Azerbaijan vs Malta

Azerbaijan: Agayev; Huseynov, Badalov, Dashdamirov; Aliyev, Mahmudov, Safarov, Bayramov; Sadykhov; Quarbanly, Dadashov

Malta: Bonello; Muscat, Scicluna, Shaw, Corbalan; Teuma, Guillaumier; Chouaref, Satariano, Ewurum; J Mbong

Score Predictions: Azerbaijan vs Malta

Sportskeeda Version

Both teams are likely to view this friendly as an opportunity to test squad depth and assess their performance against another League D opponent ahead of upcoming competitive fixtures.

Given the similar level of quality and the neutral venue, the match is expected to be low-scoring.

Predicted Score: Azerbaijan 1-1 Malta

Sportsmole Version

With both sides struggling for form over the past 12 months, a high-quality game is not expected.

However, the advantage of playing in a more familiar setting could prove crucial for Azerbaijan, and a hard-fought clean-sheet victory would not be surprising.

Predicted Score: Azerbaijan 1-0 Malta

TribunLombok Version

This fixture features two teams that have both struggled for consistency in recent years. Azerbaijan may benefit from playing in a more comfortable environment, but their World Cup qualifying campaign exposed serious issues in goal-scoring and creativity.

Malta, despite losing to Slovakia, enter this match with some confidence. They pushed their superior opponents hard and only conceded a decisive goal in injury time, showing that their defensive structure is fairly solid.

On paper, Azerbaijan possess more international experience through players like Renat Dadashov and Emin Mahmudov. However, their attacking line has yet to demonstrate the sharpness required to guarantee victory, especially against a disciplined defensive setup.

Malta are also not known for their attacking prowess. Their main strategy typically revolves around maintaining defensive shape and capitalising on set-pieces or counter-attacks. Given the friendly nature of this match and the likelihood of both managers experimenting with lineups, the tempo may be cautious.

With both teams relatively even in quality and sharing similar goal-scoring challenges, this game could end up being one of the lowest-scoring fixtures of the international break.

Predicted Score: Azerbaijan 0-0 Malta