A 6-0 defeat to Bulgaria did little to lift Malta’s spirits ahead of the daunting clash with Italy tomorrow but captain Michael Mifsud has urged his team-mates to make amends for Friday’s humiliation with a gutsy showing against the Azzurri.
The one thing I want to tell the fans is to remember that they have Maltese blood
“The result against Bulgaria was very disappointing,” Mifsud told The Times.
“It was not easy for us to adapt to those conditions as we’re not used to play in snow and on a frozen pitch.
“Bulgaria are a strong side and we expected a very difficult match but the conditions made things worse for us. The way Bulgaria performed showed that the state of the pitch and the weather didn’t disrupt their play but we couldn’t get going.
“We must put that upset behind us now and concentrate on the Italy match.
“There’s no doubt that this will be another tough test but if we are focused collectively and main-tain our tactical discipline, we can gain a creditable result.”
Malta’s dismal showing in Sofia has added to the scepticism about the national team’s chances of avoiding another drubbing at the hands of Italy but Mifsud is undaunted by the prospect of facing strong opposition.
He believes that Malta can take heart from their performance against Turkey back in 2007.
“In the past, we’ve shown that we can play well against top teams,” Mifsud said.
“Turkey were also regarded as one of the leading teams in Europe when we played them in a Euro 2008 qualifier at the National Stadium but we managed to produce a fine performance and get a deserved point after a 2-2 draw.
“If we play like we did against Turkey, we can get a good result against Italy.
“Everyone knows that Italy are very strong and that we’re in for a gruelling test. But we will give our 100 per cent and we will hopefully leave the pitch with our heads held high.”
On the eve of Friday’s game against Bulgaria, Malta coach Pietro Ghedin spoke of the importance of not allowing the hype surrounding the Italy qualifier distract the players from the task at hand.
Unsurprisingly, Malta’s woeful showing on Friday prompted suggestions that the Italy game may have weighed heavily on the players’ minds despite Ghedin’s efforts to ensure that his team’s focus was on the Bulgaria qualifier.
Asked to give his opinion on this subject, Mifsud said: “It could be that the Italy game was at the back of the players’ minds, I mean that’s a natural thing, but I don’t think it had any effect.”
Mifsud said the mood among the Malta players was very downbeat after the Bulgaria defeat which left our national team bottom of Group B with no points from four qualifiers.
“Everyone was gutted,” the 31-year-old Valletta striker said.
“It’s not nice when you concede six goals but I believe that we will get over this disappointment quickly.
“We need to regroup and turn the page. We must address the mistakes we committed against Bulgaria in order to avoid repeating them against Italy.”
As captain and most rep-resentative player in the current Malta squad with 96 appearances to his name, Mifsud has added responsibilities in terms of en-couraging his team-mates and raising their morale, especially after a harrowing experience like that of Friday.
“At the hotel, I talk to some players individually about the game,” Mifsud replied when asked about his dressing-room input as captain.
“I try to make sure that the coach’s message is getting through to all of us.
“Our next qualifier will be one of the biggest games of our lives. I believe that the experienced players can help a lot.
“Our intention is to go out on the pitch with confidence and determination.”
Home support
The Malta captain is hopeful that the capacity crowd at the National Stadium tomorrow will rally behind the home team and inspire them to a great showing.
“For us, it’s a massive boost to play a team like Italy in a full stadium,” Mifsud said.
“It’s something of a one-off for the players to play a home game in front of a massive crowd and I hope that the Maltese supporters get behind us as that could make a big difference.”
It’s no secret that thousands of Maltese fans who support Italy will flock to the stadium to watch the likes of Balotelli, Marchisio, Pirlo and El Shaarawy but it is hoped that the majority of the fans will put their affection for the Azzurri to one side and offer their backing to the home team.
Mifsud made an impassioned appeal to the fans.
“The one thing I want to tell the fans is to remember that they have Maltese blood,” Mifsud said.
“They may side with Italy in big tournaments but as Maltese, they should support our national team first.”
Meanwhile, the Malta squad gathered at the Grand Excelsior Hotel, their base for home games, yesterday afternoon before heading to Ta’ Qali for a training session.
Ghedin has a 19-man squad at his disposal after calling up Ħamrun Spartans striker Terence Vella and Balzan’s left-back Jacob Borg to the squad while Valletta winger Daniel Bogdanovic has pulled out with an abdominal injury that forced him to miss the qualifier against Bulgaria.