Newcastle United returned to action at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon facing French side RC Strasbourg in the third and final match of the Visit Malta Weekender 2026 in which game ended 1-1 and had to be decided by penalties. RC Strasbourg brought the Visit Malta Weekender 2026 to a winning conclusion after defeating Newcastle United 3-2 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes at St James’ Park.

The encounter brought the curtain down on a busy two-day programme of international football at St James’ Park, which saw Newcastle United’s men’s and women’s teams face European opposition as part of their preparations for the new season.

The Magpies went into the match looking to finish the weekend on a positive note after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

Against Strasbourg, Newcastle made a positive start and were rewarded when William Osula opened the score, putting the home side ahead and giving the St James’ Park crowd an early reason to celebrate. In the 69th minute Gessime Yassine equalised and the score remained 1-1. Newcastle United and RC Strasbourg could not be separated after 90 minutes in this final match with a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park meaning the winner of the Visit Malta Cup had to be decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Earlier on Sunday, Newcastle United Women faced Inter Women in the first match of the afternoon at St James’ Park, with the Italian side securing a 2-0 victory. Marie Detruyer opened the scoring in the 26th minute before Elisa Polli doubled Inter’s advantage in the 86th minute to seal the win.

Following their victory, Inter were presented with the women’s Visit Malta.

At the conclusion of Newcastle United’s match against Strasbourg, the Visit Malta cup was also presented to Strasbourg by Dr. Marc Sant legal advisor of Visit Malta bringing the 2026 Visit Malta Weekender to an official close.

The two-day event at St James’ Park has provided Visit Malta with an important platform to showcase the Maltese Islands to an international football audience, while bringing together clubs from England, Germany, Italy and France.

Visit Malta’s presence has been visible throughout the weekend at St James’ Park, further strengthening the link between Malta and international sport and using football as a platform to promote the country as a destination.

Photos by Matthias Brancaleone