Joseph Mbong
Maltese footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Essien Mbong (born 15 July 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a wing-back for Maltese side Ħamrun Spartans. Born in Nigeria, he plays for the Maltese national team.
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Full name
Joseph Essien Mbong
Date of birth
15 July 1997
Place of birth
Lagos, Nigeria
Height
1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
|
Mbong playing for Malta in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Essien Mbong | ||
| Date of birth | 15 July 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Wing-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ħamrun Spartans | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Hibernians | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2020 | Hibernians | 112 | (6) |
| 2017 | → Inter Zaprešić (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2020– | Ħamrun Spartans | 128 | (19) |
| 2022–2023 | → Ironi Kiryat Shmona (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Malta U17 | 4 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | Malta U19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Malta U21 | 14 | (1) |
| 2018– | Malta | 71 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:32, 2 January 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:55, 17 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Personal life
Mbong is of Nigerian descent. His father Essien Mbong was also a footballer and spent most of his career with Hibernians. He is the older brother of fellow Maltese international Paul Mbong and Siggiewi forward Emmanuel Mbong.[1][2]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 21 December 2025[3]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hibernians | 2014–15 | Maltese Premier League | 16 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | — | 21 | 1 | |
| 2015–16 | Maltese Premier League | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | Maltese Premier League | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Maltese Premier League | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 28 | 1 | |
| 2018–19 | Maltese Premier League | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 28 | 4 | |||
| 2019–20 | Maltese Premier League | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 22 | 2 | ||
| Total | 117 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 140 | 8 | ||
| Inter Zaprešić (loan) | 2016–17 | Croatian First League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ħamrun Spartans | 2020–21 | Maltese Premier League | 22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 7 | ||
| 2021–22 | Maltese Premier League | 27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 3 | |||
| 2022–23 | Maltese Premier League | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Maltese Premier League | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[e] | 4 | 1[d] | 0 | 33 | 4 | |
| 2024–25 | Maltese Premier League | 32 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4[f] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 40 | 8 | |
| 2025–26 | Maltese Premier League | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13[g] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 5 | |
| Total | 128 | 19 | 12 | 2 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 165 | 28 | ||
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona (loan) | 2022–23 | Israeli Premier League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[h] | 1 | 19 | 1 | |
| Career total | 260 | 25 | 23 | 4 | 34 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 324 | 36 | ||
- Includes Maltese FA Trophy
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Maltese Super Cup
- Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Conference League
- Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 17 November 2025[4]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malta | 2018 | 8 | 0 |
| 2019 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 71 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Malta's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mbong goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 March 2021 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Russia |
1–2 | 1–3 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [5] |
| 2 | 1 September 2021 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Cyprus |
2–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [6] |
| 3 | 6 September 2023 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Gibraltar |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | [7] |
Honours
Ħamrun Spartans
- Maltese Premier League: 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
- Maltese Super Cup: 2023, 2024
