European Championship B (Men)

Sat 1st November 2025   - KO  13:00 - FK BSK Borca, Belgrade , Serbia
Official: Andrew Pilkington (Spain)

Serbia

52

FT

12

Half Time
14 - 12

Malta

Tries

Andrej Marinkovic (8,40)
Nikola Djuric (32,58)
Aleksandar Pavlovic (54)
Jesse Soric (61)
Jason Muranka (64)
Stefan Arsic (71)
Vladica Nikolic (78)
Silver Zenuni (80)

Josh Gatt (26)
Alfie Jewitt (50)

Goals

Jesse Soric (0/1)
Vladica Nikolic (1/1)
Dzavid Jasari (5/8)

Kyle Gauci (2/2)

Sinbins

Daniel Marjanovic (61)

Kyle Micallef (54)
Mark Roberston (61)

Match Preview: Serbia and Malta name squads for Euro B decider

Everything is up for grabs as Serbia take on Malta in the final round of Euro B on Saturday 1 November, at the FC BSK Stadium in Borca (kick off 1.30pm, local time). If the hosts win, draw or lose by a margin of 22 points or fewer, they will be crowned champions.

Malta can take the title if they win by 35 points or more and a Serbia loss between 23 and 34 points will hand title to Netherlands.

The team finishing bottom will be relegated to Euro C where they will join Greece and Germany in 2026.  

Serbia start as favourites coming into the game on the back of a 30-4 away win in the Netherlands, while Malta went down to the Oranje 36-6 in Marsa two weeks ago, and they also recall Catalans Dragons and former Canberra Raiders star Nick Cotric, together with veteran Vojislav Dedic of Red Star Belgrade; they replace Luka Milicevic and Vlado Kusic.

Serbia head coach, Darren Fisher, commented: “We’re looking forward to hosting Malta, our morale is good and we know this will be another test for us. A couple of guys have been on the medical bed after early exits last week, but we’re hopeful they make it through and there is competition for places with a couple of big names returning.”

Malta make nine changes from the team which faced the Dutch in round one, with possible debuts for domestic players Kyle Micallef and Ethan Xuereb, while UK-based Alfie Jewitt joins brother Harrison in the squad.

French Super XIII player of the month for October, Josh Gatt of S.O. Avignon, plays. Malta head coach Philip Humphrey has named veteran forward Kaine Dimech as captain for the first time. “As we saw last week against the Netherlands, Serbia are a very good team,” he said. “We come here looking forward to the challenge and hoping for an exciting end to our European Championship campaign.” 

Spanish referee Andrew Pilkington takes charge of the fixture.


Serbia Squad
Lachlan Ditchman (Carina), Nikola Cotric (Catalans Dragons), Sasa Popovic (Glebe Dirty Reds), Jesse Soric (Gold Coast Titans), Niko Djukic (Mackay Cutters), Aleksandar Pavlovic, Andrej Marinkovic, Djordje Krnjeta, Dzavid Jasari, Enis Bibic, Vladimir Milutinovic, Strahinja Stojiljkovic (Partizan 1953), Jason Muranka (Radnicki New Belgrade), Stefan Arsic (Radnicki Nis), Rajko Trifunovic, Vojislav Dedic, Vuk Strbac (Red Star), Vladica Nikolic (Villefranche Хlll), Daniel Marjanovic (Villeneuve Leopards)

Malta Squad
Josh Gatt (SO Avignon), Harrison Jewitt (Castleford Tigers), Terence Galdes, Kyle Gauci, Kyle Micallef, Jean-Pierre Spiteri Zarb, Kane Tippett (Falcons), Alfie Jewitt (Featherstone Lions), Josh Cassar (Hunslet ARLFC), Shaun Chircop, Robin Cutajar, Nicholas Maylor (Stompers), Kaine Dimech (Medway Dragons), Mark Robertson (Tugun Seahawks), William Watts, Ethan Xuereb (Overseas RUFC), Karl Cassar (Unattached)

31 October 2025
1 Jesse Soric
Full Back
Harrison Jewitt 1
5 Dzavid Jasari
Right Wing
Shaun Chircop 2
3 Rajko Trifunovic
Right Centre
Mark Roberston 3
4 Stefan Arsic
Left Centre
Nicky Maylor 4
5 Andrej Marinkovic
Left Wing
Kane Tippett 5
6 Nikola Djuric
Stand Off
Kyle Gauci 6
7 Daniel Marjanovic
Scrum Half
Josh Gatt 7
10 Vladica Nikolic
Prop
Josh Cassar 8
9 Sasha Popovic
Hooker
Robin Cutajar 9
8 Djordje Krnjeta
Prop
Jean-Pierre Zarb 10
13 Lachlan Ditchman
Second Row
Alfie Jewitt 11
12 Jason Muranka
Second Row
William Watts 12
17 Vojislav Dedic
Loose Forward
Kaine Dimech 13
14 Vuk Štrbac
Int 1
Terence Galdes 19
15 Strahinja Stojiljkovic
Int 2
Kyle Micallef 15
16 Aleksandar Pavlovic
Int 3
Ethan Xuereb 17
17 Silver Zenuni
Int 4
Reserve 1
Match Report: Serbia seal Euro B crown with 52-12 win over Malta

Serbia sealed the Euro B title with an ultimately convincing 52-12 win over Malta at the FC BSK Stadium in Borca. They overpowered the Knights in the final quarter, running in five tries, all from different scorers.

“We really got into gear in the second half but credit to Malta, they made us work for it and it was a tough game,” said Serbia head coach Darren Fisher. “I’m so pleased all round with the overall performances. It’s been a great competition for us and the guys got what they deserved with two impressive wins.”

Partizan 1953 winger Andrej Marinkovic posted two tries for the hosts in the opening half, stand off Nikola Djuric also going over to give them a 14-6 advantage at the break, although Malta briefly led through a Josh Gatt touchdown and Kyle Gauci conversion.

Alfie Jewitt’s try ten minutes into the second period, again converted by Gauci, brought the visitors back to within two points but Serbia stepped up a gear; Aleksandar Pavolic finding the line, Djuric adding a second and Jesse Soric jinking over.

Jason Muranka added a fourth score during a ten-minute purple patch which saw Malta reduced to 11 men at one point as Kyle Micallef and Mark Robertson were sent to the sin bin, Serbia’s Daniel Marjanovic also sent to cool off after his part in a scuffle.

Stefan Arsic crossed with ten minutes remaining, Vladica Nikolic and Silver Zenuni also powering over, with further conversions from Dzavid Jasari - who landed five goals - taking it to the half century.

Malta head coach, Phil Humphrey, noted: “It was a very entertaining game for 50 minutes until Serbia’s better conditioning and some of our indiscipline kicked in and made it a little one sided. We’ve very much enjoyed coming here and, despite the disappointment, we’re looking forward to next year.”

Malta are relegated to Euro C where they will join Greece and Germany in 2026.  

1 November 2025