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Spain 12–1 Malta

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Spain v Malta (1983)
The Estadio Benito Villamarín in Seville hosted the match
EventUEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
Group 7
Matchday 8
Spain Malta
12 1
Spain qualified for UEFA Euro 1984
Date21 December 1983 (1983-12-21)
VenueEstadio Benito Villamarín, Seville
RefereeErkan Göksel (Turkey)
Attendance18,871

On 21 December 1983, Spain played Malta in the last qualification match for UEFA Euro 1984. Needing a victory by no less than 11 goals to qualify, Spain won the match 12–1. The game is often described as one of the most important in the Spanish national team's history.[1]

Background

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With only the group winner getting a spot in the finals, the Netherlands had defeated Malta 5–0 four days before, and had finished their qualification schedule on top of the group with 13 points and a goal difference of +16.

By winning their final qualifier Spain would also finish on 13 points, and goal difference would decide the group winner. Spain's goal difference was +5 before the match; if it also reached +16, then the total number of goals scored by Spain would surpass that of the Netherlands, putting Spain ahead. Therefore, the team needed a win by a margin of 11 or more goals.

Spain had only managed to score 12 goals in their seven matches in the group until then. Before the game the Maltese goalkeeper John Bonello said: "I wouldn't return to my country if they scored 11 goals."[2]

Going into the match, the Group 7 table stood as follows:

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 8 6 1 1 22 6 +16 13 Qualify for final tournament
2  Spain 7 5 1 1 12 7 +5 11
3  Republic of Ireland (E) 8 4 1 3 20 10 +10 9
4  Iceland (E) 8 1 1 6 3 13 −10 3
5  Malta (E) 7 1 0 6 4 25 −21 2
Updated to match(es) played on 17 December 1983. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated

Match

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Summary

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Spain's only chance of qualifying for Euro 1984 was to defeat Malta by at least 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. After Santillana opened the scoring for Spain in the 15th minute, Malta's Michael Degiorgio levelled the score 1–1 in the 24th minute.[3][4]

When half-time came and the scoreline was 3–1 to Spain, few expected them to score enough goals to qualify. However, Juan Antonio Señor, who had missed the early penalty, scored Spain's 12th and last goal in the 88th minute; Rafael Gordillo nearly scored a 13th in the final minutes of the game but it was disallowed by the referee. That did not matter, however, as the Spaniards won by the 11-goal margin required for them to beat the Netherlands to qualification.[5]

Details

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Spain 12–1 Malta
 Report
Attendance: 18,871
Spain
Malta
GK 1 Francisco Buyo
RB 2 Juan Antonio Señor
CB 4 Antonio Maceda Yellow card 52'
CB 5 Andoni Goikoetxea
LB 3 José Antonio Camacho (c)
RM 7 Lobo Carrasco
CM 8 Víctor Muñoz
LM 6 Rafael Gordillo Yellow card 25'
AM 10 Manuel Sarabia
CF 9 Santillana
CF 11 Hipólito Rincón downward-facing red arrow 88'
Substitutions:
FW 16 Marcos Alonso upward-facing green arrow 88'
Manager:
Miguel Muñoz
GK 1 John Bonello Yellow card 50'
RB 3 Alex Azzopardi
CB 2 Emanuel Farrugia
CB 5 John Holland (c)
CB 6 Norman Buttigieg
LB 10 Emanuel Fabri Yellow card 34'
CM 11 Michael Degiorgio Yellow card 3' Yellow-red card 76'
CM 9 Ernest Spiteri-Gonzi
CM 8 Ray Farrugia downward-facing red arrow 70'
CF 4 Simon Tortell Yellow card 23'
CF 7 Silvio Demanuele
Substitutions:
DF 14 Mario Farrugia upward-facing green arrow 76'
Manager:
Victor Scerri

Assistant referees:
Yahya Diker (Turkey)
Özcan Oal (Turkey)

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • Maximum of two substitutions.

Timeline

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Aftermath

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The match was broadcast by RTVE in Spain. Afterwards, in Malta, many claimed [citation needed] that the Maltese were paid to not play their best and to let Spain win by a large margin, and it was rumoured that words had been exchanged between Maltese and Spanish officials and players at half-time. 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". They also claim the Maltese players were drugged via lemon wedges during halftime.[6] However, as of 2018, no evidence has come forth to support these allegations.[7]

The Malta Football Association launched an inquiry into the result, and its chairman George Abela (later the President of Malta) brought about changes to the national team. Abela said that a lack of facilities meant that the team lacked serious professional preparation for a tournament such as the European Championships, and the closeness of away fixtures (Malta had played in the Netherlands only four days before their 12–1 loss in Seville) was a further hindrance and such scheduling would be avoided in future.

Final table

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Spain and the Netherlands finished the qualification stage level on 13 points, level on goal difference, but Spain qualified on goals scored (24, compared to 22 for the Netherlands).

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 8 6 1 1 24 8 +16 13 Qualify for final tournament
2  Netherlands 8 6 1 1 22 6 +16 13
3  Republic of Ireland 8 4 1 3 20 10 +10 9
4  Iceland 8 1 1 6 3 13 −10 3
5  Malta 8 1 0 7 5 37 −32 2
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Records

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Los 50 mejores partidos de la historia: España 12-1 Malta Clasificación Euro 1984". Marca (in Spanish). 6 April 2020.
  2. ^ Olmedo, Álvaro (20 December 2008). "La intrahistoria de la gran hazaña". Marca (in Spanish). El meta de Malta, John Bonello, se retractaba de las declaraciones hechas días antes -"Si me meten once goles no vuelvo a mi país"- mientras la otra cara de la moneda, Holanda, se preguntaba cómo era posible. "Fue simplemente la segunda parte que habíamos soñado".
  3. ^ Murray, Scott (2 September 2011). "The Joy of Six: European Championship qualifiers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Colossal 12–1 win for Spain" (PDF). Times of Malta. Seville. 22 December 1983. Retrieved 23 January 2019. [dead link‍] Alt URL
  5. ^ "Spain's top newspaper recalls 12-1 victory over Malta 30 years ago today". Times of Malta. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  6. ^ independent.com (March 20, 2018). "Watch: 1983 12-1 defeat against Spain - Maltese players say they were drugged".
  7. ^ Mattia Chiusano (June 20, 2004). "E la Spagna rifilò 12 reti a Malta". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 48.
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