Malta coach De Leo tells national team players to show their character in tough Finland qualifier

Malta head coach Emilio De Leo is urging his players to show their real character as the national team faces a tough trip to Finland in their penultimate World Cup qualifying match in Helsinki on Friday evening (kick-off: 6pm).

The Maltese players are still in search of their first win in the group, with their only points so far coming from successive draws against Lithuania.

But Finland is likely to be a tricky challenge for our national team as the Nordic side is coming from a very encouraging qualifying campaign that has seen them keep the pace with front-runners, the Netherlands and Poland, albeit their chances of qualification look remote.

Traditionally, Malta struggles against Nordic opponents who base their play on speed and power, and coach De Leo is urging his players to make sure they make good use of the ball so they are not left exposed by their opponents’ swift transitions.

“Finland is a very strong side that boasts a very strong physical structure and who are very dangerous with their swift transition play,” De Leo said.

“It’s going to be very important that we make good use of the ball when we are in possession and try and make the most of our technical qualities.

“It’s important that we show great intelligence when trying to impose our game plan.

The national team is

coming from a rather low-key international window last month which saw Malta suffer a 4-0 defeat to group

leaders the Netherlands and then stumble to a disappointing 4-1 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a friendly international.

Although these matches have inevitably seen a lot of criticism to the team’s performances, De Leo rejected the notion that Malta’s last international window was a disappointment.

“In terms of results, yes, it was not ideal,” he said.

“But we should not judge our progress only by results.

We have to focus on improvement and our journey as a team.

“If you look at the September window, the matches against San Marino and Lithuania were good performances that offered both positive indications and lessons from our mistakes. Balance is important – both in good moments and in difficult ones.”

De Leo emphasized the importance of maintaining belief and determination, especially when facing higher-ranked opposition.

“This is an opportunity to face big teams, and we must take advantage of it. We are not victims, nor do we enter the match thinking our destiny is already written,” the Italian coach said.

“We have to play until the final whistle, showing that we work with seriousness and commitment. It will be a very complicated game, but even in these two upcoming difficult matches, we can still do well, and we will try until the end.”

On his part, veteran goalkeeper Henry Bonello echoed his coach’s message of optimism and perspective.

“I don’t think the last window was a bad one,” Bonello said.

“Yes, we didn’t get the results we wanted, but we are on the right path – in terms of our playing style. Against Bosnia, we created several chances, and the result wasn’t truly reflective of our performance. If we are more aggressive and take our chances, we can be in a better position.”