Record in sight... Michael Mifsud will eclipse David Carabott’s mark of 122 Malta caps if he plays against Iceland today. Photo: Darrin Zammit LupiRecord in sight... Michael Mifsud will eclipse David Carabott’s mark of 122 Malta caps if he plays against Iceland today. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Not so long ago, encounters between Malta and Iceland were tagged as clashes of the minnows but the scenario has changed dramatically over the past few years.

Iceland’s meteoric rise means that they are now fancied to give every team in Europe, even the big guns, a rough ride as they showed at Euro 2016 when they endeared themselves to the neutral fans by reaching the quarter-finals after knocking out England.

Maltese football, with all its inherent flaws, still has a very long way to go to reach Iceland’s current levels but today’s friendly match at the National Stadium is an opportunity for our team to show that the gap is perhaps not as wide as many would have us believe.

The Iceland comparisons aside, Malta need a good performance and a good result to lift the nation’s mood after the 1-0 defeat to Slovenia last Friday left them without a point after four World Cup qualifiers.

Malta coach Pietro Ghedin is aware that the pressure is growing on him and his team to end the negative run but stressed that the players are giving their all.

“We produced a good performance (vs Slovenia),” Ghedin said.

“The players gave their absolute best, they gave what they have inside.

“We are now facing another difficult encounter against Iceland as everyone know what they have done at the Euros. They reached a very high level of performance.

“From our side, I know that our players will give their maximum.

“I don’t want anyone to think or say that our players don’t play for the shirt because it’s not true.

“Our players believe in the value of the shirt and the value of the group.”

When it was put to Ghedin that today’s friendly will revive the debate about the widening gulf between Malta and Iceland, he replied: “We can’t make objective comparisons because the footballing realities of the two countries are different.

“Iceland’s population may be smaller than that of Malta but they have grown in an unbelievable manner because they have solid structures that enable them to export more players to overseas leagues.

“At Euro 2016, Iceland showed that they have a great group of players.”

Ghedin reiterated that Malta’s target for today’s friendly is to compete with honour. “Our objective is always to leave the pitch with our heads held high,” Ghedin said. “We will try to take something from the game, try to do well and score goals if possible but it’s also imperative that we keep our tactical balance.

“We know our qualities and I can assure everyone that the players will go into the game with courage and a determination to fare well.”

Despite facing criticism about his tactical choices lately, Ghedin has not changed his opinion about the merits of the 5-3-2 system but professed his readiness to switch to four at the back during today’s friendly, depending on how the game pans out.

“I’m still convinced that our team is more comfortable and compact with three centre-halves but during the game, there could be some variations, both tactically and in terms of personnel.

“We will try to assess certain things but this is not the ideal match to make a lot of experiments.”

In Friday’s qualifier against Slovenia, Ghedin underlined his willingness to bring in fresh blood into the team as defender Sam Magri made his senior debut while young striker Jean Paul Farrugia came on for Michael Mifsud late in the game.

Daniel Zerafa could also be in line to make his senior bow this evening after the Tarxien centre-half replaced Zach Muscat in the squad.

Muscat, who started alongside Andrei Agius and Magri in the heart of defence on Friday, was given permission to return to his Italian club Arezzo but played no part in their 1-0 victory over Piacenza on Sunday as he has a back problem.

Ghedin is not expected to make drastic changes from the Slovenia match but intends to use his six substitutions in today’s friendly with the likes of Bjorn Kristensen, Ryan Scicluna, Steve Pisani and Farrugia expected to feature at some stage.

Alfred Effiong may be restored to the starting XI after the Nigerian-born striker lost his place in the team to Michael Mifsud for the last two qualifiers.

Having matched David Carabott’s record of 122 Malta caps last Friday, the rejuvenated Mifsud is widely expected to set a new landmark by making his 123rd appearance in tonight’s friendly against Iceland.

Coached by Heimir Hallgrímsson, Iceland suffered their first defeat in the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday night after going down 2-0 to Croatia in Zagreb.

Previous meetings

World Cup
25-04-2001: Malta vs Iceland - 1-4
02-06-2001: Iceland vs Malta - 3-0
09-10-2004: Malta vs Iceland - 0-0
08-06-2005: Iceland vs Malta - 4-1

Euro Championship
05-06-1982: Malta vs Iceland - 2-1
05-06-1983: Iceland vs Malta - 1-0

Friendlies
07-05-1991: Malta vs Iceland - 1-4
10-02-1992: Malta vs Iceland - 1-0
11-02-1996: Malta vs Iceland - 1-4
14-08-1996: Iceland vs Malta - 2-1
28-04-1999: Malta vs Iceland - 1-2
27-07-2000: Iceland vs Malta - 5-0
04-02-2008: Malta vs Iceland - 1-0
16-11-2008: Malta vs Iceland - 0-1

Malta team (probable)
A. Hogg, S. Magri J. Zerafa, G. Sciberras/B. Kristensen, R. Muscat, A. Agius, S. Borg/D. Zerafa, R. Camilleri, L. Gambin, A. Schembri, M. Mifsud/A. Effiong.

Referee: Arnold Hunter (N. Ireland).

Kick-off: 7pm.

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