An exciting period for Malta kicks off this Wednesday with a warm-up game against Estonia and concludes on November 15 with another friendly against Euro 2016 darlings Iceland at the National Stadium.

In between, Pietro Ghedin’s team must contend with a series of daunting assignments, including the opening 2018 World Cup Group F qualifier at home to Scotland today week and the eagerly-awaited clash with England on October 8.

The encounters with Scotland and England are prompting a lot of interest among the fans with Bjorn Vassallo, the Malta FA general secretary, announcing yesterday that the stadium is already 75 per cent full for next Sunday’s qualifier with 5,000 tickets snapped up by Scottish supporters.

As for the Wembley game, the indications are that a record number of Maltese fans will travel to London to support the national team.

Addressing a news conference prior to the Malta squad’s departure to Estonia early tomorrow morning, Vassallo said that 12,000 match tickets have already been issued for the Scotland qualifier.

With Iceland’s astonishing march to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals – they knocked out England in the last 16 – unleashing a barrage of critical comments about Malta’s failure to match their progress, Vassallo was asked if the Nordic team’s visit for the November 15 friendly would raise the pressure on the Malta FA.

“There is no pressure at all,” Vassallo stressed.

“Iceland are a small association like Malta.

“Our president  (Norman Darmanin Demajo) and his Iceland FA counterpart (Geir Thorsteinsson) are very good friends.

“We had been discussing this friendly for a long time, well before Euro 2016. In fact, this game ought to have been played before the Euros but it was not possible at the time. Now we have finalised everything.

“Last year, we played Iceland at U-19 level at the Hibs Stadium and we were on a par with them.

“At senior level, the situation is different because Iceland can rely on a pool of professional, overseas-based players.”

Malta coach Pietro Ghedin declared himself pleased with the physical condition of his players ahead of this week’s tests.

“We are preparing for two big games against strong teams,” Ghedin said.

“My players are in a good condition. I could see that in today’s training. It was a recovery session but we also did some additional work be-cause we don’t have much time to prepare for the next games.”

Having favoured a 5-3-2 module throughout the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, Ghedin has no intention of changing his tactical strategy for the 2018 World Cup trek.

“We don’t have the time to try new systems,” Ghedin replied when asked about his tactical intentions.

“You can’t change the style of play all the time. What really counts is that we are organised on the pitch and play as a team.”

Birkirkara’s Rowen Muscat, one of Malta’s best players in the last two years, has been left out of the squad for the Estonia and Scotland games as the midfielder has hardly featured for his club since returning from his loan spell with AC Pavia.

“I’m sorry for Rowen,” Ghedin said. “He came on for the last 10 minutes of Birkirkara’s game against Tarxien yesterday (Friday) and I’m happy for him but three months without a game is a very long time.

“He was with us in Austria (training camp) but if you don’t play for the club, you can’t expect to play for the national team.”

Luke Gambin, who left a very positive impression in the May friendlies against the Czech Republic (0-6) and Austria (1-2), has been named in Ghedin’s 20-strong party for this week’s internationals.

The Italian coach also revealed that the MFA are exploring the possibility of applying for a Maltese passport for Maurizio Vella who has joined Floriana this season.

Positive mood

Veteran midfielder Roderick Briffa  is hopeful that the encouraging showings of Maltese clubs in Europe and the new hybrid pitch at the National Stadium, will help the national team to up their game.

“With the introduction of seven foreign players, the level of the national championship has gone up,” Briffa reflected.

“Our clubs have done pretty well in the Champions League and Europa League.

“We (Valletta) were unlucky not to reach the third qualifying round of the Champions League as we missed scoring chances and paid the price for our mistakes.

“Besides this, the new pitch is in perfect condition and the facilities are excellent but, as players, we need to give our answer on the field of play.”

The home and away Malta kits for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign were also unveiled yesterday.