[2] Prior to that, on 24 February 1957, the team played its first official international match at the Empire Stadium against Austria, suffering a 3–2 defeat.
[3] As of September 2021, Malta has played 418 international fixtures, winning 54, drawing 70 and losing 294.
[4][5] The team's most frequent opponent has been Iceland, meeting the side 15 times, winning 3, drawing 1 and losing 11.
[6] In global and continental competitions, Malta has competed in qualification groups for both the UEFA European Championship, since 1962, and the FIFA World Cup, since 1974, but has failed to qualify for any tournament finals.
He broke the record previously held by David Carabott of 122 appearances on 15 November 2016 against Iceland.