Portugal wary of Malta’s defensive solidity ahead of women’s Euro qualifier

The Portugal women’s team is wary of the defensive resiliency they will have to deal with come Tuesday when they cross swords with Malta in their second Women’s Euro 2025 qualification, at the Centenary Stadium.

Ranked 21st in the world, Portugal are eyeing a third straight qualification to the European Championships after their participations in 2017 and 2021.

Coached by Francisco Neto, Portugal landed in Malta on Sunday night and will hold their last training session on Monday evening.

Defender Lucia Alves and Andreia Jacinto, who plays as midfielder, pointed out Malta’s tactical discipline in a Sunday press conference.

“We know it will be a difficult game because Malta has shown quality and managed to draw at Northern Ireland,” Jacinto, who plays with Real Sociedad, said.

“We are aware of this, but we are focused and we want to win.

We have to be very focused, respect our opponent and impose our football. If this is the case from the start, we will live up to our expectations and win the game.”

Alves, on her part, underlined the fact that the match will be held on synthetic surface which might create some difficulties for a Portugal selection that plays their home games on natural turf.

“It will not be easy on synthetic pitch, therefore we know the difficulties we might encounter but we are going to give everything for the three points,” Benfica’s Alves said.

“We should never underestimate the opponent, but let’s enjoy the game and have fun playing.”

Portugal defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0 in their European Championship qualifications with goals from Carole Costa, a Gloria Sliskovic own goal and Diana Silva, who was presented with a commemorative award for her 100 caps before the game.