Malta are bracing themselves for a tough test on Monday night when they travel to Warsaw to take on Poland in their second World Cup qualifier (kick-off: 8.45).
The team may be coming into the match on the back of a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Finland at the National Stadium but not all is doom and gloom in the Maltese clan after their first appearance under the charge of coach Emilio De Leo.
The Maltese produced a vibrant performance against Finland, creating numerous scoring chances but their profligacy in front of goal came back to haunt them as it was the winners who struck the winner midway through the first half to secure all three points.
However, that setback has inevitably intensified the fire in the Maltese players who are desperate to make amends in the tough trip against a Polish side who will be desperate to show vast improvement after a hard-fought win over Lithuania last week.
Zach Muscat, the Malta defender, said that the defeat to Finland had left a sour taste among the Maltese players and are desperate to build on their encouraging showing last Friday.
“Our performance against Finland was a very positive one and surely we deserved much more than a 1-0 defeat,” the Sanliurfaspor player told the Times of Malta.
“To be honest, we never expected to have such a positive performance particularly as it was our first match under a new coach and playing a new style of play. That display certainly has infused more self-belief in ourselves and we are desperate to continue to grow in terms of performance and try and pick up our first points in our next matches, starting against Poland.
“Losing a game like that against Finland hurts particularly when you think of all the hard work done by our technical staff in studying our opponents and working with the players to help them adapt to the system. Added to that, the attitude and mentality of all the players was top notch and after such a great effort put in everyone, it was hard not to gain some points from the match.
“But it’s clear that we are on the right path and this team has a great margin of improvement and we again give everything we have to try and deliver another strong performance against a strong side like Poland and hopefully we can return home with some points.”
One major concern for Malta was their failure to take the chances that came their way against Finland.
The team had a total of 19 shots with six on target but none of them produced a goal.
Asked whether the team is struggling to score goals given that they lack a pure forward, Muscat said: “I am not too sure as today there are different types of players in our squad and at the end of the day it’s not important if it’s a defender, a midfielder or forward that scores, the important thing is to take your chances.
“It’s encouraging to see a great attacking intent and we are creating many chances. We need to be more sharp in front of goal as scoring goals is the first step to winning points and matches.”
Joy to play
On a personal note, Muscat has just revived his club career when last January he headed to Turkey to join Sanliurfaspor.
His performances with the Turkish second-tier side have been encouraging and earned him a spot in the league’s Team of the Week on more than one occasion.
“I am very happy to be playing again,” said Muscat who had been without a club for several months after ending his playing spell in Portugal last summer.
“After so many months without playing competitive football, it’s inevitable that when you start to do what you love most you appreciate it much more. The fact that I wasn’t playing effected me a lot but now I am very happy to be back doing what I love most.
“I am delighted to be playing again for the national team. The coach gave me a new role, which is much more advanced to the one I used to have before, but I am enjoying it a lot as I love to just play football and hopefully I can continue to give a strong contribution for my country.”
Malta coach Emilio De Leo is likely to make at least one change to the team that faced Finland as Kurt Shaw is suspended following his dismissal on Friday, with Steve Borg and Enrico Pepe pushing for a start.
On the other hand, Poland are boosted by the availability of star striker Robert Lewandowski who was forced to hobble off in his team’s 1-0 defeat to Lithuania.
Reports in Poland said that Kamil Piatkowski is likely to make way for Mateusz Wieteska while Mateusz Bogsz could be preferred to Jakub Piotrowski who failed to shine against Lithuania.
