Malta were paired with four-times world champions Italy and former European champions Denmark in the qualifying round draw for the 2014 World Cup held in Rio de Janeiro last night.
Drawn in Group B, John Buttigieg’s men face a tough campaign as they were also pitted in the same group with the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Armenia.
This will be the second time that our national team will be facing the Azzurri in a World Cup qualifying campaign. In fact, Malta were drawn in the same group of Italy for the 1994 World Cup which was held in the United States.
During that qualifying series, the Italians completed a double of victories over our national team, then guided by Pippo Psaila. The first match was played at the National Stadium on December 19, 1992 and the Italians just managed to take all points with a hard-fought 2-1 win, with Martin Gregory scoring Malta’s only goal.
The return fixture was played four months later in Palermo and this time, the 2006 world champions recorded an emphatic 6-1 win with Carmel Busuttil, pulling a goal back for Malta from the penalty spot.
The only other occasion Malta faced Italy in an international competition was in season 1986-87 when they were in the same group for the Euro 88 which was held in Germany.
During that campaign, Malta lost the first match at the National Stadium 2-0 and then travelled to Bergamo where the Italians imposed themselves 5-0.
Denmark are also no new opponents for Malta in a World Cup qualifying campaign as the 1992 European champions had met Malta in the run up to the 2002 tournament played in Japan and South Korea and for the last edition in South Africa in 2010.
In 2001, the Danish side met the national team twice, winning 5-0 at Ta’ Qali but then battled to a 2-1 win in Copenhagen.
Three years ago, the two countries were again paired against each other and the Danes registered identical 3-0 victories.
The Czech Republic, were also on Malta’s path for the qualifying phase for the 1998 and 2002 editions.
From the four matches played, Malta had managed to win a point against Pavel Nedved’s Czech Republic in October 2000 when the team, which was then led by Josif Ilic, held out to a goalless draw at the National Stadium.
Our national team also boasts a positive result against Bulgaria who we met in the run-up to the 2002 and 2006 tournaments. In fact in October 2005 our senior team held the Bulgarians to a 1-1 draw at the National Stadium.
Bjorn Vassallo, the Malta FA CEO, was satisfied with the outcome of the draw.
“After a very long time, Malta will be playing against one of the strongest teams in the world, both from a technical point of view as well as in terms of popularity,” he said.
“Italy are a big attraction, especially for our country.
“The other teams in the group are all tough, especially the Czech Republic and Denmark but I’m sure that our team will rise to the occasion to gain the respect of our opponents in every game we play.”
European zone
Group A
Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland, Macedonia, Wales.
Group B
Italy, Denmark, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Armenia, Malta.
Group C
Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan.
Group D
Netherlands, Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Andorra.
Group E
Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, Albania, Cyprus, Iceland.
Group F
Portugal, Russia, Israel, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg.
Group G
Greece, Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Latvia, Leichtenstein.
Group H
England, Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, San Marino.
Group I
Spain, France, Belarus, Georgia, Finland.
Note: Nine group winners qualify for the finals; eight best second-placed teams play-off with the winners also progressing.