Gozo national football team
The Gozo representative football team represents the island of Gozo, Malta, in football. It is organised by the Gozo Football Association and its home stadium is the Gozo Stadium.
 | ||
| Association | Gozo Football Association (Assoċjazzjoni tal-Futbol Għawdxija) | |
|---|---|---|
| Confederation | None | |
| Home stadium | Gozo Stadium | |
| ||
| First international | ||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Provence 3–1 Gozo  (Novara, Italy; June 22, 2009) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
Gozo 17-1 Raetia  (Xewkija, Malta; January 14, 2012) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
 Ironi Tiberias 6–0 Gozo
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bavaria 6–0 Gozo | ||
It is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA and therefore is not eligible to enter either the World Cup or European Championship. The Gozo representative football team, however, competed in the 2009 Viva World Cup and hosted the subsequent edition in the following year.[1] As of 2018, Gozo[2] has also participated in the last four editions of the UEFA Regions' Cup, on top of their appearance in the inaugural edition in 1999. Occasionally, the Gozo representative football team also plays friendlies against football clubs, particularly those from the mainland.
History
Historical records suggest that a team representing the island of Gozo had already played a couple of matches way before the turn of the millennium.[3] Indeed, during the 1970s a side representing Gozo was invited to join in the Independence celebrations and play 2 friendly matches against local sides. Other historical records indicate that a Gozitan team might have been involved in more matches during this period.[4]
The Gozo Football Association's decision to organise Gozo F.C. and have it play in the Maltese football league system might be the reason behind the lengthy hiatus of the Gozo representative national team. Indeed, the next known Gozitan appearance came in 1999, when a selection representing Gozo played in first edition of the UEFA Regions Cup. Ten years after, specifically in 2009, the Gozo representative football team debuted in the Viva World Cup. In the following year, Gozo hosted the 2010 edition of the Viva World Cup and therefore, once again, Gozo had the opportunity to participate in the said Cup. Overall, Gozo's performance was disappointing as they finished at the bottom of their group but the team could find solace in the fact that the win against Provence was their first ever win on the field against international opponents.[5] Gozo's appearance in the 2010 Viva World Cup was, however, their last appearance in the now-defunct competition.
That said, the launching of the Gozo Cup[6] during the same year presented an opportunity for the representative side to play friendly matches against Maltese football clubs. The Gozo Cup ran for four consecutive years and during the intervening period Gozo also played a number of friendlies, including the famous 17–1 victory against the Raetia national football team in Xewkija.[7] Since then, Gozo's appearances have been limited to the UEFA Regions' Cup. Indeed, the Gozitan representative football team appearance in the 2017 edition of the bi-annual UEFA Regions Cup marked Gozo's participation in, and hosting of, the tournament for the third edition running.[8]
Tournament Records
Match History
Selected international matches
| 22 June 2009 2009 Viva World Cup, Group Stage | Provence | 3–1 | Gozo | Novara, Italy |
| 17:00 CET | Hammoud  36', 77'Hammami 90+1' |
(Report) | Camilleri 73' |
Stadium: Stadio Silvio Piola Attendance: 100 Referee: Buonanno |
| 24 June 2009 2009 Viva World Cup, Group Stage | Sápmi  | 7–2 | Gozo | Brescia, Italy |
| 17:00 CET | Thomassen 12', 16', 17' Eira 48'Reginiussen 52', 84'Bruer 78' |
(Report) | Bugeja 79', 86' |
Stadium: Stadio Mario Rigamonti Attendance: 80 Referee: Baker Seerwand Salman |
| 26 June 2009 2009 Viva World Cup, 5th place match | Occitania .svg.png.webp){kind=small} | 2–1 | Gozo | Brescia, Italy |
| 17:00 CET | Ballue 19' Cantier 62' |
(Report) | Camilleri 80' |
Stadium: Stadio Mario Rigamonti |
| 31 May 2010 2010 Viva World Cup, Group Stage | Gozo | 1–2 |  Padania | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 20:15 CET | Camilleri 40' |
Report | Nannini 7' Prandelli 82' |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Per Anders Blind (Sweden) |
| 2 June 2010 2010 Viva World Cup, Group Stage | Gozo | 0–5 | Occitania | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 19:30 CET | Report | Ballue 1' (pen.), 36' Taillan 61'Amiel 88'Soro 90+2' |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Per Anders Blind (Sweden) |
| 4 June 2010 2010 Viva World Cup, 5th place match | Gozo | 2–1 | Provence | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 15:30 CET | Buttigieg 59' Camilleri 89' |
Report | Juan 19' (pen.) |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Aaron Fenech (Malta) |
UEFA Regions' Cup
| 21 June 1999 1999 UEFA Regions' Cup, Preliminary Round | Zapadne Srbije %253B_Flag_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro_(2003%E2%80%932006).svg.png.webp){kind=small} | 4–0 | Gozo | Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Sobotovic 26', 39', 52' Andric 60' |
Report | Stadium: Toumba Stadium |
| 22 June 1999 1999 UEFA Regions' Cup, Preliminary Round | Israel Amateur | 6–0 | Gozo | Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Dabush 8' Ben-ezra 13', 38' 55' (o.g.) Haluani 83' Maman 88' |
Report | Stadium: Toumba Stadium |
| 24 June 1999 1999 UEFA Regions' Cup, Preliminary Round | Macedonia  | 8–2 | Gozo | Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Petrousis 4', 62' Golias 44', 50', 73' Panapolous 58' Thomasiades 68' Geragotis 75' |
[https://www.uefa.com/regionscup/season=1999/matches/round=1267/match=56443/index.html Report} | Farrugia 15' Lautier 31' (pen) |
Stadium: Toumba Stadium |
| 14 October 2012 2013 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 3–2 |  FK Rīnūži-Strong | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 11:30 CET | Bezzina 49' Mercieca 54' Portelli 78' |
Report | Puzirevskis 39' Simanovskis 88' |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Damir Batinić (Croatia) |
| 16 October 2012 2013 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 0–6 |  Olimp Moscow Region | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 11:30 CET | Report | Orlov 27', 41', 56' Asadov 34', 86' Korobetc 83' |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Richard Trutz (Slovakia) |
| 18 October 2012 2013 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 2–2 |  Ialoveni | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 11:30 CET | Stojanovic 59' Camilleri 63' |
Report | Spinu 24' Tonu 74' |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Richard Trutz (Slovakia) |
| 1 October 2014 2015 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 2–0 |  Vaasa | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 19:30 CET | Thiago Melo 67' Bezzina 84' |
Report | Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Nikola Popov (Bulgaria) |
| 3 October 2014 2015 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 1–2 |  Ankara | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 16:30 CET | Pavlidis 72' |
Report | Muzaffer İlhan 24' Nuri Kunduz 74' |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Mitja Žganec (Slovenia) |
| 5 October 2014 2015 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 1–3 |  South Region – Russia | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 16:30 CET | Pavlidis 10' |
Report | Mochkarski 21' Valiulin 22' Obernibesov 80' |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Nikola Popov (Bulgaria) |
| 5 October 2016 2017 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 0–5 |  East West Central Scotland | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 16:30 CET | Report | Heaver 12' (pen.) Moore 56', 87'Butler 77'McClure 87' |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Sascha Amhof (Switzerland) |
| 7 October 2016 2017 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 0–0 |  Ligue Paris Ile-de-France | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 13:00 CET | Report | Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Georgi Vadachkoria (Georgia) |
| 9 October 2016 2017 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 1–3 |  FC Inhulets | Xewkija, Gozo |
| 15:00 CET | Mizzi 10' |
Report | Bozhenko 20' Horshchynskyi 62'Sorokyn 90' (pen.) |
Stadium: Gozo Stadium Referee: Georgi Vadachkoria (Georgia) |
| 27 September 2018 2019 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Gozo | 0–4 |  Vojvodina | Neustadt an der Donau, Bavaria |
| 17:00 CET | Report | Hađinac 13' Grima 25' (o.g.)Šavija 58'Papović 85' |
Stadium: Neustadt Stadium Referee: Roomer Tarajev |
| 30 September 2018 2019 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Bavaria | 6–0 | Gozo | Leiblfing, Bavaria |
| 17:00 CET | Marx 26' Fromholzer 50'Gebhart 55'Fischer 60'Nagengast 81'Bauer 86' (pen) |
Report | Stadium: Leiblfing Stadium Referee: Luca Barbeno |
| 3 October 2018 2019 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary Round | Ironi Tiberias | 3–1 | Gozo | Neustadt an der Donau, Bavaria |
| 14:00 CET | Zadok Haker 10' Yada'N 80'Cohen 90' |
Report | Mizzi 65' |
Stadium: Neustadt Stadium Referee: Luca Barbeno |
Selected non-international matches
| Friendly | Asswehly SC  | 2–1 | Gozo | Misurata, Libya |
| Friendly | Misurata XI | 0–3 | Gozo | Misurata, Libya |
References
- "The Fourth Edition of the VIVA World Cup kicks off in Gozo". gozonews.com. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- uefa.com. "Regions' Cup - Gozo Region – UEFA.com". UEFA.com. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- http://naduryoungsters.com/history/club-elites/club-elites-horace-mercieca/
- "- g h a j n s i e l e m o n l i n e -". www.ghajnsielem.com. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "VIVA World Cup: Gozo place fifth — Padania, Kurdistan reach final". maltafootball.com. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "Gozo FA launches the Gozo Cup football tournament". gozonews.com. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "Gozo golea a Raetia en el primer amistoso NF Board del año 2012". gamacero.blogspot.com. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- "UEFA Regions Cup tournament underway at Gozo stadium". gozonews.com. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2018.