Haley Bugeja

Haley Bugeja (born 5 May 2004) is a Maltese footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie A club US Sassuolo and the Malta women's national team.

Haley Bugeja
Personal information
Full name Haley Bugeja
Date of birth (2004-05-05) 5 May 2004[1]
Place of birth Pietà, Malta
Position(s) Forward[2]
Club information
Current team
 Sassuolo
Number 7
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
20??–2020 Mġarr United 53 (0)
2020– Sassuolo 18 (12)
National team‡
2019– Malta U17 6 (0)
2020– Malta 7 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2020

Club career

On Saturday, 5 September 2020, at the age of 16, she made her debut in Serie A Femminile in Sassuolo's 3–1 win against Napoli. Bugeja scored the first and third goal for her team. The first one was a gem of individual skill. The second one was a fabulous curving shot in the top corner with her "weaker" foot. Her impressive performance was given a lot of media attention both in Italy and Malta.[3] Wonderkid Bugeja went on to score another two goals against Fiorentina and Florentia. This also meant that Bugeja scored four goals in her first four matches for the Italian side.

International career

Bugeja won her first senior cap for Malta as a 14-year-old in April 2019, starting a 2–0 friendly defeat by Romania in Bucharest.[4] She scored her first goal in a 2–1 home friendly defeat by Turkey in January 2020.[5] A first competitive goal arrived in March 2020, in a 2–1 home UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying Group B win over Georgia.[6] In November 2020 Bugeja scored a hat-trick in Malta's 4–0 win over the same opponents away from home.[7]

International goals
Scores and results list Malta's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bugeja goal.
List of international goals scored by Haley Bugeja
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 January 2020Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta Turkey1–11–2Friendly
2 5 March 2020Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta Georgia2–02–1UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualification
3 26 November 2020Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia  Georgia0–20–4UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualification
4 26 November 2020Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia  Georgia0–40–4UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualification
5 1 December 2020Ramat Gan Stadium, Israel Israel0–20–2UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualification

See also

References
  1. Haley Bugeja at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. Haley Bugeja – UEFA competition record (archive)
  3. "The Maltese prodigy making waves in Italy". FIFA. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  4. "Malta girls lose to Romania despite spirited display". Malta Football Association. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2021. In this game, coach Gatt handed a debut to Haley Bugeja, who earned a spot in the starting XI
  5. "Malta women lose narrowly to Turkey in friendly". Times of Malta. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021. However, the Maltese women managed to level terms through Haley Bugeja’s curling effort after receiving from Brenda Borg - her first international goal for Malta.
  6. Lia, Gianluca (5 March 2020). "Superb display earns Malta women win over Georgia". Times of Malta. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. "UEFA names football starlet Haley Bugeja as one to watch in 2021". Times of Malta. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.


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