The Duke of Cambridge proved a whizz at table football when he joined a group of teenagers for a lunchtime match – and scored the winning goal.

William showed off the skills of a misspent youth when he visited a welfare centre in Vittoriosa providing a range of services for youngsters and adults from an impoverished area of Malta.

The second-in-line to the throne may have performed better than his pregnant wife Kate¸ who was supposed to make the two-day visit to the island nation but withdrew due to a severe form of morning sickness.

The Duke has been in regular touch with the Duchess¸ updating her about the visit¸ which would have been her first solo trip¸ and son¸ Prince George¸ has also clearly been in his thoughts.

He joked with a child care student that she could come to the UK and look after the little prince¸ who is almost 14-months-old. ‘Another baby will make things interesting for us¸’ he said.

When William spied a group of teenagers huddled over the table football he could not resist joining Kayleigh Cioffi¸ 17¸ and her playing partner who were losing.

He expertly twirled the handles controlling the goal keeper and the defenders and turned the game around by scoring two long-range goals.

As the first went in he said in triumph ‘great goal from the defence¸’ and when the winner smashed home a few second later he added ‘ahh that’s it¸ we’ve won’.

Ms Cioffi¸ a regular user of the facilities at the Agenzija Appogg access centre¸ a youth and social services provider in the town of Birgu¸ was impressed by the Duke.

She said: ‘He’s better than me¸ and he helped us win. He was so¸ so nice. He said that he would love to spend a summer here.’

The Duke proved more adept at the traditional game then the computer version but clearly enjoyed sitting on a bean bag and playing an Xbox 360 football game with three teenage boys who were nearby.

He joined the Milan team who were playing Real Madrid and took one of his computer footballers on a mazy run before he was well tackled.

‘These teams are good¸ but nothing like Aston Villa¸’ he joked¸ referring to his favourite British football team.

Ansell Delia¸ 16¸ a member of the Colour of Life club¸ based at the access centre¸ which provides afterschool activities¸ said about his computer football skills ‘he was not bad’.

The teenager added: ‘He’s a lot different from the pictures in the papers¸ of course¸ but he seemed to really enjoy spending time with us – he’s very friendly.’

William chatted about his son George when he met child care student Janet Desira¸ 17¸ who told him she is learning all about young children at college.

The second-in-line to the throne joked: ‘You can come and do some babysitting for me¸’ and he held out his arm to show how high George now stands¸ addi