Will Koeman’s team celebrate another landslide victory?
There is no room for experimentation in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Only the top team in the table will secure a ticket to the World Cup finals at the end of the qualifying round. Ahead of our Malta vs. Netherlands tip, the Elftal lead the table in Group G, but are level on points with Poland (10 points each).
Bondscoach Ronald Koeman expects the highest level of professionalism in the Malta vs. Netherlands prediction – including from his best striker. Memphis Depay arrived late to the visitors’ camp and, according to his national coach, will not be in the starting lineup.
Alternatives for the attacking position are ready to step in. One example is Wout Weghorst, who has already scored five goals for Ajax Amsterdam in the Eredivisie this season, making him the second-highest scorer in the Dutch top flight. However, he is by no means the only player in Koeman’s squad who can provide attacking impetus alongside Memphis Depay (5 goals in World Cup qualifying).
Emilio De Leo will be in charge of the hosts for the next World Cup qualifier. The 47-year-old has been Malta’s national coach since the beginning of the year. Since then, the hosts have played six games, averaging 0.83 points and scoring in their last two consecutive matches. For him personally, this is his first job as head coach in professional men’s soccer.
The two points gained from the matches against Lithuania (0-0, 1-1) were particularly surprising. The last match against the Netherlands was less successful (0-8). We are therefore using the ODDSET app and selecting Malta vs. Netherlands betting odds of 1.98 for “Netherlands Over 3.5 Goals.”
Malta – Netherlands Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Seven direct duels between Malta and the Netherlands are recorded in the statistics center. The Oranje have won every single match and have not conceded a single goal to the Reds. The Elftal have almost always been in a goal-scoring mood, scoring at least four goals in six of the seven encounters.
The last match is also the only one this millennium. Unlike previous encounters between these two national teams, very little has changed. The Netherlands won 8-0 at home, racked up 5.07 xG worth of scoring chances, and dominated the game at will. If Koeman’s team gets off to an early lead in the next direct duel, a sports bet with cash out may be helpful.
Malta – Netherlands Tip
So far, the Netherlands have marched through the World Cup qualifiers undefeated, celebrating three wins and sharing the points in only one match. Koeman’s team has scored 14 goals in four games, massively exceeding the number of expected goals (9.0 xG).
The Oranje’s defense has been almost flawless in the World Cup qualifiers so far. Overall, the leaders of Group G have conceded only 1.0 expected goals (6th) and thus achieved a positive goal difference of 14:3. This figure should increase significantly again in the next game in Malta.
Defensively, Malta seemed to be overwhelmed not only in their first match against the Netherlands. Overall, Emilio De Leo’s team has conceded 11.3 expected goals in five appearances (49th) – only five teams have conceded more.
We expect another dominant performance from the Netherlands and a goal-hungry attack that, even without Memphis Depay in the starting lineup, has the quality to cause Malta problems on multiple occasions.
