Malta will be hosting England on September 1, 2017 as the fixtures list for the 2018 World Cup qualifying Group F were announced yesterday.
Local football was gripped with a huge amount of anticipation during the weekend to discover the date when Roy Hodgson’s England will be making the trip to Malta to play the group match at the National Stadium.
The official list of fixtures for all nine qualifying groups, draws of which were made during a lavish ceremony at the Konstantin Palace in St Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday, were released by UEFA.
Malta and England were paired together in Group F along with Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Lithuania.
Michael Mifsud, the Malta captain, said being drawn in the same group with England was a huge bonus not only for the national team but for the entire football fraternity in our football-mad country.
“This was a dream draw for many of us,” Mifsud told the Times of Malta yesterday.
“To be given the opportunity to play against England in front of our fans is a source of great motivation for us national team players. Given the huge popularity the English national team enjoys here, no doubt it will be a sell-out crowd and the atmosphere will surely be amazing.
“I am lucky to have played against them once when coming on as a substitute in June 2000 as Malta played against England in an international friendly... I still remember the great atmosphere we experienced that day.
“After being drawn against Italy in two successive qualifying campaigns, luck again smiled on us and this time we go for England.”
Mifsud is already looking forward to the double challenge against the mighty Whites.
“This draw has also given us an opportunity to play in one of the world’s most beautiful stadiums – Wembley Stadium. That will be another great motivation for us players to do our best at home and away to make it a memorable occasion for the country.”
Away from the England matches, Mifsud admitted that Malta’s other opponents in the group will provide a difficult test.
However, he is confident that the team can hold its own, particularly in home matches.
“Looking at our other opponents it’s clear that we will have some tough matches coming up. We’ll be playing against teams that are showing great potential in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, such as Slovakia and Scotland,” Mifsud said.
“However, I believe that we have improved significantly in recent months and that has shown in our last matches at home.
“We shall continue to train hard and keep giving our 100 per cent in every match. We want to gain as many points as possible.”
Pietro Ghedin’s national team will open their qualifying campaign on September 4, 2016 when they play Scotland at the National Stadium.
However, the biggest test in the group will arrive a month later when Malta play England away on October 8.
This will be the first of three double headers in this qualifying campaign as three days later Malta travel to Vilnius to face Lithuania.
The national team will be back on home soil on November 11 next year to play Slovenia and stay at home to face Slovakia for their next match on March 26, 2017.
The national team will wrap up their commitments for the 2016/17 season away at Slovenia on June 10, 2017.
Malta’ open their 2017/18 competitive commitments with the much-awaited clash at the National Stadium against England on September 1. Three days later they travel to Hampden Park to face England’s Auld Enemy Scotland.
Malta’s final two matches in the group will be played on October 5 and 8 when they host Lithuania first before heading to Bratislava to play Slovakia.
Malta’s fixtures
Sept. 4, 2016: Malta vs Scotland
Oct. 8, 2016: England vs Malta
Oct. 11, 2016: Lithuania vs Malta
Nov. 11, 2016: Malta vs Slovenia
Mar. 26, 2017: Malta vs Slovakia
June 10, 2017: Slovenia vs Malta
Sept. 1, 2017: Malta vs England
Sept. 4, 2017: Scotland vs Malta
Oct. 5, 2017: Malta vs Lithuania
Oct. 8, 2017: Slovakia vs Malta