Fitzel challenges fringe players to justify selection

On a high after collecting the Team of the Year title at last Sunday's Sportivi Nazzjonali awards, Malta will be looking to preserve the feelgood factor when they launch their International Tournament commitments with a clash against Armenia at the National Stadium today at 5.15 p.m.

The International Tournament, hosted by the Malta FA every two years, is intended to get the national team's preparations for a new World Cup or European Championship qualifying campaign, up and running.

This year sees the start of the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign for European nations but with Malta's first qualifier, at home to Portugal, pencilled in for the first week of September, national coach Dusan Fitzel thinks it's far too early to start thinking about Ronaldo and company.

The other teams in Group One are Sweden, Denmark, Hungary and Albania.

For Fitzel, the matches against Armenia, Iceland (Monday) and Belarus (Wednesday) are an opportunity to experiment with tactics and personnel but he nevertheless expects all the players in his squad to deliver.

Under increased pressure to impress will be the fringe players as Fitzel has made it clear that the International Tournament will be their last chance to vindicate their status as national team players.

"We will not start our World Cup qualifiers before September and until then, a lot of things can happen," Fitzel told The Times.

"I'm looking at the International Tournament as a chance to assess the potential of all the players in the squad.

"I'm pleased that we're going to play three international games but my main concern is that we will only have a day's rest in between games... this is somewhat unusual in football.

"My plan is to rotate the squad and make use of all the players. For some of them, this tournament will be a significant challenge for they will have to prove to me that they deserve to be in the national squad. This will be their last chance."

Fitzel will choose his line-up from a pool of 22 players for Malta's first two matches but his options for Wednesday's final encounter with Belarus are to be enhanced by the arrival of four foreign-based players.

Coventry City striker Michael Mifsud, Leixoes's winger Udo Nwoko, goalkeeper Justin Haber, who plays for Greek division two club Haidari, and Macclesfield defender Luke Dimech are expected to report for international duty on Monday but Andrè Schembri, who is on the books of Eintracht Braunschweig, will not figure for Malta in this tournament as the German team will be having a training camp in Turkey.

Hibs striker Terrence Scerri is struggling with a shoulder injury which has virtually ruled him out of Malta's opening two matches.

Midfielders Ryan Fenech, of Hamrun, and Shaun Bajada, of Birkirkara, are the only newcomers in Fitzel's latest squad but the Czech mentor has been impressed by the progress of the fledglings in Mark Miller's U-21 group.

"The young generation are pushing harder for promotion to the senior squad and this is good for the future of the national team," Fitzel maintained.

"There are many talented players in the U-21 squad. Another objective of mine is to build a team for the future but this has to be a gradual process, especially when you're dealing with young players in Malta.

"We have to give them time to grow and reach their potential, especially when it comes to selecting them for the national team because the gap between the level of the domestic game and international football is huge."

Tactics-wise, Fitzel has set his sights on increasing his team's adaptability to different systems.

"I've studied our tactical development in the last two years," Fitzel said. "The next step would be to have the team play more offensive football. I'm working with the players on new tactical modules and how to adapt to different situations during games.

"I'm planning to vary the team's tactics in these friendly games and check how far we've come in this aspect."

Fitzel pronounced himself satisfied with the commitment of the players since they resumed training at Ta' Qali early last month.

"I'm happy with the work we've done on the training pitch in the last few weeks. The players' commitment has been excellent," Fitzel said.

"They are aware that there is a strong competition for places in the national squad but I guess this tournament can answer a lot of questions."

Of the three nations taking part in this year's 14th International Tournament, Fitzel rates Belarus, who held the 62nd position in the latest FIFA rankings, as the strongest team. Armenia are currently ranked 85th, Iceland 87th and Malta 136th.

"My assessment of the three teams is reflected in our fixture schedule," Fitzel said. "We will start against Armenia, whom I regard as the weakest of the three. Our second game is against Iceland before finishing off against Belarus who are the toughest team in this competition.

"I hope that our team will improve with every game. It would also be better for us if all teams bring their best players for this tournament because we want to encounter strong opposition. It will be same in the World Cup qualifiers."

The International Tournament kicks off at 3 p.m. today when Belarus play Iceland.

Probable team: A. Hogg, R. Briffa, A. Xuereb, B. Said, R. Bajada, R. Fenech, G. Agius, S. Bajada, G. Mallia, I. Woods, E. Barbara.

Referee: Magnus Porisson (Iceland).