Without a point from their opening five World Cup qualifiers, Malta will be bidding to break their duck tomorrow evening when they face Armenia at the Republican Stadium in Yerevan.
Today's qualifier is shaping up as a clash of the Group B minnows as Armenia are second from bottom with three points from four qualifiers while Malta have nothing to show for their efforts so far.
The game comes after a long and exhausting season for the Malta players but coach Pietro Ghedin is pleased with his squad's preparations.
"We have prepared well for this game," Ghedin told a news conference this morning before Malta's training session.
"We played well in our last qualifier against Italy but this is another game.
"Armenia are no easy opponents. They have a very good team and all their players are young but strong."
Ghedin can't rely on a full squad this evening as four experienced players have not travelled to Armenia for different reasons. Goalkeeper Andrew Hogg, who played for Enosis Paralimni in Cyprus last season, is recovering from a back problem, Latina defender Andrei Agius is unavailable as his team are preparing for the first leg of the Prima Divisione B play-off final on Sunday, Valletta midfielder Ryan Fenech is getting married this weekend and Daniel Bogdanovic has been left out for technical reasons.
"I'm sorry for the players who are not with us but I also have faith in the other players," Ghedin said. "They can also do a good job for us."
Ghedin dismissed suggestions that tomorrow's game represents arguably Malta's last opportunity to gain a point in a tough World Cup qualifying campaign also containing European giants Italy, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Denmark.
"We are not tourists," Ghedin said. "We are here to play an important game. This is not our last possibility to gain a point as we have another four matches after this.
"We will give our heart on the pitch and if we manage to get a point, we will be happy."
Given that all the players who started the Italy qualifier in March are all available, Ghedin is expected to select the same team for tomorrow's game.
Malta goalkeeper Justin Haber, a finalist for the MFA Footballer of the Year award, insisted that the players are always motivated to play well for their country.
"When you play for your country, you always want to do well," Haber, who won the league title with Birkirkara, said. "I'm proud to be Maltese and so are the other players.
"We are here because we are the best in our country and we want to show that. The motivation to do well is always there, whether it's a game against Italy, Germany or Armenia."
The referee of tomorrow's qualifier is Arnold Hunter, from Northern Ireland. The game, starting at 6pm (Malta time) will be shown live on TVM 2.