We must react, says Briffa

There is no quick fix for Malta’s on-going difficulties in international football but midfielder Roderick Briffa is hoping for a strong reaction from the team this evening against Hungary.

"This is going to be another tough test for us but we have to motivate ourselves and go into this qualifier with a determination to produce a good performance," Briffa told The Times.

"If we keep our heads down, we can never improve."

Briffa, widely considered as one of the most skilful players in local football, was in the Maltese team that went down 3-0 to Denmark on Saturday.

"It was a disappointing outing for us but Denmark are very strong," Briffa said.

"The difference between the two teams was there for all to see. It was difficult for us to keep possession and try to create something in attack because their tempo was very high.

"But that is in the past now. We need to concentrate on the next game and I believe that we can play better against Hungary. Things cannot get much worse after the bad results we’ve had so far but we must react if we want to stop this negative run."

The 27-year-old Briffa has been deployed in a variety of positions during his career, from the now redundant libero to striker.

For the national team, he has often played at right-back but on Saturday, Briffa was assigned a wide position on the right of midfield.

Briffa makes no bones of his preference to play as an advanced midfielder but says he’s willing to play anywhere for the national team.

"The coach decides positions," Briffa pointed out. "With my former club Birkirkara, my usual role was that of advanced midfielder and that’s my preferred because I’m an attack-minded player.

"That said, if the coach feels that I can serve the team somewhere else, I’m willing to do that."

Dusan Fitzel’s statement about his intentions to analyse the situation after today’s clash with Hungary is unlikely to have escaped the attention of the national team players.

Speculation has been rife that another defeat this evening could precipitate Fitzel’s departure. Briffa was understandably unwilling to talk about the coach’s comments but he endorsed Fitzel’s work.

"I will only say that Fitzel is one of the best and most dedicated coaches I’ve worked with," Briffa said.

"His attention to detail is impressive, especially in the way he studies the opposition."

Factbox - Malta-Hungary

Past encounters

World Cup
14-11-1971 Malta-Hungary 0-2
06-05-1972 Hungary-Malta 3-0
11-12-1988 Malta-Hungary 2-2
12-04-1989 Hungary-Malta 1-1
17-11-2004 Malta-Hungary 0-2
03-09-2005 Hungary-Malta 4-0

Euro Championship
11-10-2006 Malta-Hungary 2-1
13-10-2007 Hungary-Malta 2-0

Friendlies
19-03-1997 Malta-Hungary 1-4
06-08-1997 Hungary-Malta 3-0

Flashback - October 11, 2006

Malta-Hungary 2-1

Malta: Haber, Said, Wellman, Dimech, Agius (Pullicino), Scicluna, Mifsud, Sammut, Mallia (Cohen), Schembri (Scerri), Pace.

Hungary: Kiraly, Feher (Halmosi), Vanczak, Juhasz, Leandro (Kiss), Toth, Szabics (Czvitkovics), Dardai, Torghelle, Gera, Huszti.

Referee: J. Ver Eecke (Belgium).

Scorers: Schembri 13, 51; Torghelle 19.

Probable line-ups

Malta: J. Haber, J. Caruana, S. Bajada, L. Dimech, G. Agius, R. Briffa (I. Woods), M. Mifsud, U. Nwoko, A. Schembri (E. Barbara), A. Xuereb, J. Pace.

Hungary: M. Fulop (Sun­derland), Z. Szelesi (Strasbourg), V. Vanczak (Sion), R. Juhasz (Anderlecht), L. Bodnar (Salzburg), K. Vadocz (Osasuna), P. Dardai (H. Berlin), Z. Gera (Fulham), B. Dzsudzsak (PSV), S. Huszti (Hanover), S. Torghelle (Ausburg).

Referee: J. Valgeirsson (Iceland).

Kick-off: 19.30 (National Sta-dium, Ta’ Qali).