By winning their final qualifier Spain would also finish on 13 points, and goal difference would decide the group winner.

Before the game the Maltese goalkeeper John Bonello said: "I wouldn't return to my country if they scored 11 goals.

In the second minute of the match, Spain were awarded a penalty kick after a foul on Francisco José Carrasco inside the box.

However, Juan Antonio Señor subsequently missed the penalty in the fourth minute after the shot deflected back off the left post and was cleared by a Maltese defender for a corner.

In March 2018, two Maltese players, Silvio Demanuele and Carmel Busuttil, claimed that Spain had been using doping as "they had foam in their mouths and could not stop drinking water".