In a game where Malta were forced on the backfoot for long spells by Germany, Andrei Agius rose to the challenge with a towering performance in the heart of defence.
Like the rest of his team-mates, Agius endured a taxing evening at the Tivoli Stadium on Thursday but the polished defender passed the test with flying colours as his no non-sense defending rescued the team on more than one occasion.
Germany emerged 3-0 winners in their first warm-up for the World Cup but their margin would surely have been more pronounced were it not for Agius's timely interventions, including a last-ditch clearance after Stefan Kiessling's grounder had been parried by Justin Haber, another inspiring performer for Malta in Aachen.
Agius had mixed feelings about the team's showing.
"We are lacking continuity in our match, this is one of our main weaknesses," Agius told The Times.
"At times, we struggled to keep possession in midfield and that made our job harder but whenever we passed the ball around and tried to push forward, we created chances."
Germany made light of the absence of most of their heavyweights as the fringe players, the likes of Cacau and Dennis Aogo, strengthened their quest for inclusion in Joachim Loew's 23-man squad for South Africa.
The depth of Germany's squad impressed Agius.
"Germany always go far in major tournaments," he said.
"They had most of their best players out but the ones coming in showed that they were worthy replacements.
"Trochowski, for instance, caused us many problems on the wing. He's a very dangerous player."
The friendly was Malta's penultimate warm-up before the Euro 2012 Group F qualifiers. They play Macedonia in a friendly at home in August before the opening qualifier away to Israel in the first week of September. Croatia, Greece, Latvia and Georgia are the other teams in the group.
Agius is positive about the team's prospects after a somewhat mixed performance against Germany.
"I believe we can step up our game in the coming months," Agius opined. "In many ways, the national team is in transition because there are a number of young players in the side.
"The experienced ones have been helping us a lot. We only have one friendly left before the qualifiers and we must continue to work hard to improve."
The 23-year-old admitted that his satisfaction at his performance was tempered by the team's defeat.
"I'm pleased with how I played but I can't be happy because I hate to lose," Agius said.
This season has been a rollercoaster ride for Agius. After sealing a summer move to Italian Serie C2 side SS Cassino, Agius had high hopes of taking his game to another level after a fruitful season with Igea Virtus but things didn't turn out the way he wished.
His early months with SS Cassino were frustrating as Agius struggled to break into the first team. Not one to throw in the towel easily, he was determined to secure first-team football for the second half of the season and in January, he successfully negotiated a loan move to AS Melfi who play in the same category as SS Cassino.
The switch paid dividends as Agius quickly established himself as a first-team player.
"Overall, this season was a positive one for me," Agius said.
"It was the first time in my career that I managed to raise the level of my performance in the second half of the campaign. Playing regularly for Melfi has given me a lot of confidence.
"At Melfi, coach Paolo Rodolfi helped me a lot psychologically. I needed a boost after a difficult period... it was not easy for me to be out of the team after playing regularly in the previous two seasons. The move to Melfi put my career back on track."
Agius has another year left on his contract with Cassino who acquired the player jointly with Salernitana last summer.
Asked about his future, Agius said: "I'm still contracted to SS Cassino and Salernitana. At this moment, I have no specific targets as to where I want to be next season. I have to wait and see what offers I will receive."
Agius's nonchalant style initially met with a fair degree of scepticism, especially among traditionalists who prefer the old-fashioned, burly type of defender to the modern, ball-playing centre-half.
Yet, after a series of assured displays, Agius seems to have won over most of his critics and is now regarded as a key component of the national team. However, he's not taking anything for granted.
"You can never say that you've established yourself in the national side because the coach has a wide pool of players to choose from," Agius said.
"There are other players fighting for first-team places but competition is good. The only thing I can do is to give my best in every game."
Injury mishap
Jamie Pace will miss Valletta's U*Bet FA Trophy against Ħamrun Spartans on Monday after spraining the medial collateral ligament in his right knee against Germany.
The 33-year-old sustained the injury three minutes into Thursday's match after colliding with Justin Haber as the Malta keeper dashed out of goal to intercept a corner.
The midfielder was still on crutches yesterday as the squad flew back home.
Although the extent of his injury has yet to be determined, Pace has been told that he can expect to be sidelined for a minimum of 10 days, effectively ruling him out of the semi-final as well as the final on May 23 if Valletta beat Ħamrun.
News of Pace's injury is a blow for Valletta as their midfield options for the semi-final are also hampered by the suspensions of captain Gilbert Agius and Edmond Agius.