A packed stadium during the Malta-England match was a good thing. In fact, it was excellent.

But not quite because the majority of those present were there not because Malta was playing but because England was playing, even if, admittedly, the support for our team was total.

One can easily say this because it is a known fact that when Malta is playing against other strong nations – but not against certain teams, two or three of them at most –  the presence of the fans is miserable. This smells of a colonial mentality, which we should all have shed by now. Being a small country with obvious limitations, it is nothing wrong to support other teams apart from ours. But we should always stand by our national team on any occasion. Not only the players but also the fans should be proud of the red and white colours.

More so when our boys, who are amateurs, after all, often have to play against real and true giants. This notwithstanding, they have been progressing in a satisfactory way under their (our) successful coach, Pietro Ghedin, to whom we should be all particularly grateful.