Malta out to open account

After a 1-0 defeat to Armenia in their opening match from the 14th International Tournament, Malta will be looking to get off the mark today when they face Iceland at the National Stadium (kick-off: 7.45 p.m.).

Like Malta, Iceland are also gunning to break their duck in this four-team competition after going down 2-0 to Belarus on Saturday.

Although Malta coach Dusan Fitzel is keen on victory against Iceland, he has no intention of ditching his declared plan of using the tournament to have a look at all his players.

On Saturday, Fitzel handed a debut to Shaun Bajada and Ryan Fenech, Aaron Xuereb made only his third start for Malta and no fewer than six fringe players entered the fray in the second half.

More changes are in store today, especially in defence where Fitzel is likely to reshuffle his back four.

Experienced defender Luke Dimech could also get a 45-minute run-out today. Fenech will not play a part today as he has rejoined the Malta U-21 squad for tomorrow's qualifier against Wales.

Fitzel said he was generally pleased with the performance of his team on Saturday.

"As I said, before the start of the tournament, my aim is to give a chance to all the players," he said.

"Some turned in a good performance on Saturday. Result-wise, I must admit that I was expecting something better but Armenia had one chance and scored whereas we missed three clear opportunities.

"I'm also disappointed with the way we conceded the goal because it came after we committed a stupid mistake.

"We tried to make a reaction after Armenia scored but this is another weakness I'm trying to address.

"It seems that we only start playing after we go a goal down. The substitutes did their best to get the team back into the game, they felt that they could gain something from the match and started to believe more in themselves.

"I regard this as a positive sign."

Fitzel gave an optimistic verdict about the new players.

"Xuereb played very well in defence, he did exactly what I expected of him," Fitzel said.

"Bajada struggled at first but he improved as the game wore on. Fenech also fared well, he showed he's got potential but he is young and needs more experience."

Etienne Barbara and Roderick Bajada are two other players with high hopes of breaking into Malta's first team. Both started Saturday's game and their showing drew a somewhat mixed reaction from Fitzel.

"I'm pleased with the way Etienne and Roderick approached the game but I'm sure they can play better," Fitzel said.

"One must remember that Etienne hasn't played regularly for us in the last two years. He looked a bit lost in the opening 20 minutes but settled down and for a period was our most dangerous player."

For today's game, Fitzel is expected to start with Andrew Hogg in goal after Mario Muscat played the full 90 minutes against Armenia.

Malta's four-man defence should feature Kenneth Scicluna at right-back, Steve Wellman and Josef Mifsud at centre-half and Ian Azzopardi at left-back.

Fitzel has yet to decide whether to include Dimech from the start or at the beginning of the second half.

In midfield, Jamie Pace is expected to be partnered by Gareth Sciberras with Kevin Sammut and George Mallia on the flanks. Up front, Andrew Cohen is likely to be given a free role behind Cleaven Frendo.

Probable team: A. Hogg, K. Scicluna, J. Mifsud, S. Wellman, I. Azzopardi, G. Sciberras, J. Pace, K. Sammut/P. Pullicino, G. Mallia, A. Cohen, C. Frendo.

Referee: Alexey Kulbakov (Belarus).

Today: 5.30 p.m. Belarus vs Armenia; 7.45 p.m. Malta vs Iceland.

Wednesday: 5.30 p.m. Iceland vs Armenia; 7.45 p.m. Malta vs Belarus.