Malta suffered a second straight defeat at the European Championship 2026 in Belgrade after going down 22-13 to France, who dominated all four sessions of the encounter.
It was a similar scoreline to that of the first match, when Malta lost 21-12 to Montenegro who, however, on paper are a better squad.
Malta in fact put all its chances of winning a game in this opening round of the competition on this match, but it was clearly not a good day for the boys.
News that, hours before the match, player Jake Muscat was sent home on disciplinary grounds must have dealt a blow to the players' confidence, and this showed all throughout the match.
Except for the first session, when Malta was very much in the game, the Maltese team lacked the spirit to fight back and, once France opened a five-goal lead by the change of ends it was evident that there would be no comeback. The French kept piling up the pressure and increased their lead regularly to keep Malta at bay.
Malta lost the first session 6-4, and from then onwards. France increased their advantage in the second session, outscoring Malta 5-2 to open up an 11-6 lead at the halfway stage.
The French maintained their momentum in the third session, extending their lead further with a 6-3 score for a 17-9 unassailable lead. With the French relenting but still superior, the fourth session was a pure formality for France to conclude its 22-13 victory.
This was the eighth time Malta faced France in international competition, with the French emerging victorious on every occasion. Malta came closest to breaking that sequence in June last year, when they narrowly lost on penalties.
Malta's next match is on Wednesday against mighty Hungary. After this round, Malta will be playing in matches for the 13-16th places.
Malta's goals were scored by Stevie Camilleri (3), Ben Plumpton (2), and one each from Matthew Zammit, Ivan Nagaev, Liam Galea, Darren Zammit, Nikolai Zammit, Alec Fenech, Elijah Schembri and Jake Bonavia.