Malta Under-21 coach Silvio Vella has urged his players to rise to the challenge and try to upset Belgium when they face the Group One high-fliers at the Hibs Stadium this evening (kick-off 18.00).
Vella’s men have so far put on a commendable showing in UEFA U-21 qualifying Group One, lying fourth in the standings with five points from seven matches.
But, today, the Maltese youngsters will have their work cut out as they face a Belgian team still in the running for a top-two finish in the group. Belgium are sharing second spot with Montenegro on 12 points, eight adrift of the Czech Republic who, however, have played two more matches than the Red Devils.
For Belgium, a win today is crucial as they prepare for Tuesday’s top-of-the-table clash against the Czech Republic which will have a huge say in the race for top spot.
When Malta played Belgium away last year, they managed to frustrate their opponents for long periods but caved in after Daniel Zerafa’s dismissal on 73 minutes with the hosts netting two quick goals to secure a 2-0 win.
“Belgium are a very difficult side to play against,” Vella told the Times of Malta yesterday.
“Their squad is full of professional players who ply their trade in top Euro leagues. No doubt, we need to be at our absolute best if we are to get a positive result against them.
“That does not mean that we will not try to make life difficult for them. When we met Belgium last year, our performance was very good and they only managed to score after we were reduced to 10 men.
“That performance should give us a lot of encouragement. The key factor tomorrow (today) will again be to try and be tactically very organised as that is the only way we can stop a strong side like Belgium.
“Throughout this campaign, bar the home match against the Czech Republic which was played in very difficult circumstances, the team has always performed very well and I hope the players will rise to the challenge against the Belgians.”
Vella cannot bank on his strongest team as defender Zerafa and striker Luke Montebello are out injured while Sam Magri, who is on the books of Dover FC, opted to stay with his English club as they have a league match this weekend.
Emanuel Briffa and Kyle Cesare, who last week were cleared of match-fixing charges in connection with Malta’s 1-0 defeat to Montenegro last March, are still unavailable.
On a more positive note, Vella has named three uncapped players in his squad.
The promising Myles Beerman was in the news yesterday after joining the academy of Scottish club Rangers from Manchester City.
Beerman, 17, is in line to make his first appearance for the Malta U-21s along with Valletta midfielder Jean Borg and Pietà Hotspurs wing-back Karl Micallef.
Asked if he was planning to hand any of the newcomers a starting berth today, Vella remained coy.
“All three players are very talented but they are also very young and I have to make sure that we have a good balance of talent and experience in the team,” Vella said.
“However, we know they are capable of giving a good contribution to the team and it’s up to them to show that they can deliver.”
The referee of today’s match is Ola Hibber Nilsen, from Norway.
Played yesterday: Montenegro vs Czech Republic 0-3.