Malta’s World Cup home qualifier against Italy on Tuesday may be uppermost in the minds of local football fans but national coach Pietro Ghedin is keen to ensure that his players are fully focused on the impending challenge of facing the vastly-improved Bulgaria at Sofia’s National Stadium Vasil Levski this evening (kick-off 5pm).
“We must concentrate solely on this game because it’s going to be a massive challenge,” Ghedin told The Times.
“Physically, it’s important that we come through this match in a good way. We must be very strong, not only physically but also mentally.”
Today’s qualifier is Malta’s first in 2013 after they ended their competitive schedule for 2012 with a 3-1 upset to the Czech Republic back in October. The loss in Plzen was Malta’s third in as many Group B matches following defeats at home to Armenia (1-0) and away to Italy (0-2).
Bulgaria’s encouraging start to their World Cup qualifying campaign is testament to their improvement as they are second in Group B with six points from four games.
Ghedin admitted to being surprised by Bulgaria’s performances in recent months.
“Bulgaria are ranked 46th in the world and that says all about their strength,” Ghedin said.
“I knew that Bulgaria were good but to be honest I didn’t expect them to be so strong. In one year, they have gained around 50 points in the rankings.”
Ghedin is banking on his established personnel for the Bulgaria assignment and the subsequent qualifier against Italy after naming an experienced squad.
After landing in Sofia on Wednesday afternoon, Malta had a light training session later in the day. Yesterday morning, the squad trained at the National Stadium Vasil Levski, the venue of today’s match which will be played behind closed doors on FIFA orders after Bulgaria fans racially abused a Denmark player during their qualifier on October 12 which ended 1-1.
In light of Malta’s sprightly performance in the warm-up against Northern Ireland, Ghedin is unlikely to reshuffle his pack but he hinted that Valletta duo Roderick Briffa and Jonathan Caruana, who missed last month’s goalless draw because of injury, may start.
“The team will be more or less the same as that for the Northern Ireland friendly but there will be some changes,” Ghedin said. “Roderick Briffa is back and Jonathan Caruana may also be involved as he had done well for us in the friendly against Liechtenstein (1-0).”
There are serious doubts about Daniel Bogdanovic’s participation this evening after the Valletta winger suffered an abdominal strain during training yesterday.
While the fine form shown by the Birkirkara players, namely Gareth Sciberras, Edward Herrera, Paul Fenech and Rowen Muscat, in the domestic championship is a source of satisfaction for Ghedin, not the same can be said of their Valletta counterparts.
The likes of captain Michael Mifsud, Ryan Fenech, Luke Dimech, Caruana, Briffa and Bogdanovic failed to sparkle in Valletta’s 2-0 defeat to Birkirkara on Sunday.
Asked whether he was worried about the performances of the Valletta players, Ghedin said: “It can be a cause of concern but I think that the national team is one thing and club football is another.
“The demands are different. We approach the game in a certain way and Valletta have their own system and structure.
“I hope that they (Valletta) come out of this torpor, this difficult situation. Valletta have great potential, the quality of their squad is very high.”
Talking of tactics, Ghedin has no intention of changing his 4-2-3-1 approach.
“We can’t change our tactical strategy from one day to the next,” Ghedin said. “We can make little alterations and adjustments but nothing drastic.
“Football is not theatre. We have a system and we always try to refine it. If you change systems all the time, it becomes like cinema.”
A lively showing against Bulgaria would surely lift Malta’s spirits ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Italy but Ghedin is only focusing on the task at hand.
“The Italy game... the whole nation is expecting this match but first we must think about Bulgaria and then we will see,” Ghedin said.
Past Encounters
World Cup
07-10-2000 Bulgaria vs Malta 3-0
01-09-2001 Malta vs Bulgaria 0-2
13-10-2004 Bulgaria vs Malta 4-1
12-10-2005 Malta vs Bulgaria 1-1
European Championship
11-06-1975 Bulgaria vs Malta 5-0
21-12-1975 Malta vs Bulgaria 0-2
Friendlies
14-10-1982 Bulgaria vs Malta 7-0
26-12-1982 Malta vs Bulgaria 0-0
18-11-2009 Malta vs Bulgaria 1-4
Malta (probable): A. Hogg, A. Muscat, C. Failla, L. Dimech, A. Agius, J. Caruana, G. Sciberras, R. Briffa, E. Herrera, M. Mifsud, A. Schembri.
Referee: E. Shemeulevitch (Israel). Kick-off: 5pm