If there was one player who embodied Malta’s energetic showing against Italy in Thursday’s Euro 2016 Group H qualifier, it was certainly Rowen Muscat.
The towering Birkirkara midfielder is fast becoming the epitome of this ever-improving Maltese team after putting in another influential performance, merging industry with craft to eclipse world-class players like Andrea Pirlo and Marco Verratti.
Muscat certainly didn’t deserve to leave the pitch crestfallen, his sense of frustration further compounded by the controversial manner of Graziano Pellè’s second-half winner for low-key Italy.
While expressing his disappointment at what he felt was an undeserved defeat, Muscat was uplifted by Malta’s sprightly display.
“I’m disappointed at the way we conceded the goal but I’m very pleased about our match,” Muscat told Times of Malta.
“I don’t think Italy deserved to win, to be honest. It was only in the second half that they managed to produce some dangerous attacks as in the first half, we probably had more shots on target than them.
“It’s a pity that we have lost to a goal that should not have stood in the final 20 minutes but overall I believe that we put on a good show for the Maltese supporters who were inside the stadium.
“Even the Italians applauded us when we put together good passing moves and that was very encouraging for us.”
For long stretches on Thursday, Italy looked devoid of inspiration and cutting edge as they toiled to find a way past the well-drilled Malta rearguard.
Inevitably, the media were very critical of Italy’s toothless performance but Muscat insisted that the Maltese team deserved credit for making the Group H leaders look ordinary.
“We were familiar with their approach as we had already met Italy at home in October,” the 24-year-old said.
“We anticipated that Italy would use Pellè as a target man and attack the second ball.
“Our strategy was to try and cut out the passes to Pellè who was well shadowed by Andrei Agius while I was in front of defence.
“Italy tried to raise the pressure in the second half but I felt that they were running out of ideas.
“I don’t agree with suggestions that Italy’s performance on Thursday highlighted their diminishing standards, if anything it underlined our improvement.”
Malta’s heartening display will have gone a long way towards strengthening the players’ confidence ahead of tomorrow’s encounter with Azerbaijan at the National Stadium.
“This game (Italy) will surely boost our morale ahead of the home qualifier against Azerbaijan,” Muscat added.
“That said, we certainly can’t approach our next game with an air of overconfidence but we must believe in our chances.
“We have already played against Azerbaijan, back in March, and we have a good idea of what their strengths and weaknesses are. I’m optimistic that we can get a result against them.”
Thursday’s qualifier marked Muscat’s 19th senior appearance for the national team.
Long hailed as one of the brightest prospects of Maltese football, Muscat is clearly doing justice to his potential as he has been the stand-out player for club and country over the past four months.
Muscat has excelled in Malta’s last three outings and also im-pressed for Birkirkara in their Europa League games against West Ham United.
His steady progress has elicited interest from foreign clubs with Cypriot team Aris Limassol making a concrete offer to sign Muscat this summer but the Malta stalwart then opted to stay put for now.
“Thank God, I’ve played consistently well for my country this year and also in Birkirkara’s Europa League games against West Ham,” Muscat enthused.
“I’m satisfied but I’m keeping my feet firmly on the ground.
“I know that I can always im-prove as a player. I feel that I’m reaching my peak in terms of performances but I want to do better all the time.”