Fitzel banking on crowd boost for clash with 'giants'

National coach Dusan Fitzel wanted Malta to host Portugal in their opening World Cup 2010 qualifier in the hope that the visitors' glamour and reputation would attract a sell-out crowd to the National Stadium.

Describing Portugal as 'giants of world football', the Malta coach said his decision to press for a curtain-raiser against the best team in Group One was also influenced by his expectation of a Portuguese triumph at Euro 2008. Portugal were knocked out by Germany in the quarter-finals.

"I wanted Malta to play the first World Cup qualifier against Portugal," Fitzel told a news conference yesterday. "Malta assumed a leading role during the discussions on the fixtures for our group and I was surprised that I only had to make two changes to my proposed schedule.

"I honestly expected Portugal to reach the final of Euro 2008 and I wanted them to start their World Cup campaign against us in order to fill the stadium. My wish is to see another record crowd at Ta' Qali and then I can leave," Fitzel added with a smile. The other teams in Group One are Sweden, Denmark, Hungary and Albania.

Fitzel remarked that one only has to look at the names at Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz's disposal to understand the magnitude of the task awaiting Malta in tomorrow's qualifier, kicking off at 8 p.m.

"Portugal have got some fantastic players," Fitzel observed.

"Some of them would surely be included in any selection of the world's best XI. Most of their players are with top clubs, like Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United whereas the majority of our players come from local clubs. We are playing against giants of world football and this match is going to be a big challenge for us.

"When I edited the video of the Portugal-Faroe Islands friendly (5-0), I enjoyed watching the game because their players like to express themselves, they play to have fun.

"That said, I've been preparing my team for this test for the last three to four weeks. My aim is to show that we are doing a good job here."

Although tomorrow's qualifier is shaping up as a mismatch, Fitzel ruled out the possibility of a man-marking strategy.

"There will be no man-to-man marking because this approach will not work against a team like Portugal," Fitzel claimed."Tell me, which players can we mark man-to-man... Nani, Deco, Almeida, Simao Sabrosa? We have to play as a team and if we fail to do that, we will have serious problems during the game."

Fitzel has named a 20-man squad for tomorrow's qualifier and will only trim the list to 18 on matchday.

Sliema Wanderers defender Ian Azzopardi, scorer of Malta's goal in the 2-1 defeat to Estonia in a friendly last month, has pulled out of the squad to be near his father who is seriously ill while Valletta's Josef Mifsud has been dropped. Andrew Cohen, the Hibs forward, is recovering from injury and Andrè Schembri, who plays for German club Carl Zeiss Jena, is ruled out by a one-match ban.

As Valletta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg has yet to fully recover from a calf problem, Justin Haber is a certainty to start tomorrow. Fitzel is concerned about Haber's lack of first-team opportunities since he joined English club Sheffield United but he has not lost faith in the 27-year-old's abilities.

"We are struggling with goalkeepers at the moment," Fitzel said. "Andrew Hogg is injured and it's unfortunate because he improved a lot in the past year.

"Justin has moved abroad and sometimes I ask myself 'what for', because he's not playing. In the last three seasons, Haber must have played around 25 games in all but he's still part of the squad because I believe he's a very promising goalkeeper. He has got personality and has established himself as an important player for the national team."

Malta captain Gilbert Agius is looking forward to tomorrow's clash with Portugal. "It's the first game of a new competition," Agius, who has played 108 times for Malta, said.

"It will be a very difficult match for us but the prospect of facing a strong team like Portugal should give us added motivation. It's going to be a special occasion and we will be striving to put up a strong performance."

Malta squad

Goalkeepers: J. Haber (Sheffield Utd); M. Muscat (Hibs).

Defenders: R. Briffa (Sliema Wanderers); L. Dimech, K. Scicluna (both Valletta); B. Said, S. Wellman (both Marsaxlokk); A. Xuereb (Hibs).

Midfielders: G. Agius, C. Frendo, J. Pace (all Valletta); R. Bajada (Sliema); S. Bajada, G. Mallia (both Birkirkara); R. Fenech (Ħamrun); K. Sammut (Marsaxlokk).

Forwards: E. Barbara (SC Verle, Germany); M. Mifsud (Coventry City),T. Scerri (Hibs); I. Woods (Sliema).

Portugal squad

Goalkeepers: Quim (Benfica), Carvalho (Braga).

Defenders: Bosingwa (Chelsea), Ferreira (Chelsea), R. Carvalho (Chelsea), Meira (Galatasaray), Alves (Porto), Pepe (R. Madrid), Antunes (Lecce), Miguel (Valencia).

Midfielders: Meireles (Porto), Moutinho (S. Lisbon), Deco (Chelsea), Martins (Benfica), Danny (Zenit SP), Maniche (A. Madrid), Mendes (Rangers).

Forwards: Simao (A. Madrid), Gomes (Benfica), Almeida (W. Bremen), Nani (Man. United), Djalo (S. Lisbon).