All the attention in recent days has rightly been on Malta's baptism in international football 50 years ago but Dusan Fitzel, the man pulling the strings of our national selection, has been urging his players to focus on the now.
This evening, Malta host Austria in a friendly, 50 years after the two nations met in that famous en-counter of February 24, 1957 which is officially recognised as Malta's first international match.
Fifty years of international participation for our country is indubitably an important milestone, one that is being aptly commemorated by the Malta FA.
Come 6 p.m. today, all eyes will be riveted on the country's present-day ambassadors and how they will measure up to an Austrian team who treat friendly matches as competitive assignments.
As co-hosts of the 2008 European Championships with Switzerland, Austria qualify automatically for the final stages of the tournament, meaning that friendlies are the only way they can gauge and fine-tune their preparations.
For Malta, today's match is the final test before the resumption of their Euro 2008 Group C qualifying trek with a daunting double header - away to Moldova (March 24) and at home to Greece, the European champions (March 28).
In their last competitive outing, Malta made headlines across Europe when eclipsing the once mighty Hungary 2-1 at the National Stadium for a rare European qualifier win.
The euphoria engendered by that success had not abated by the time the national team tackled Lithuania in a friendly at the Hibs Ground but a 4-1 defeat handed Fitzel's men an instant reality check.
Now, the Czech mentor is adamant to avoid a repeat of that scenario when Malta host Austria in another 'celebration' match.
"My priority is that the national team players concentrate solely on the footballing side of this friendly match," Fitzel said.
"In the past, there was another occasion when my team played a match to celebrate a feat or an anniversary and the result was a disaster. I hope the outcome will be better this time."
Fitzel's 18-man squad offered few surprises, bar the omission of veteran goalkeeper Mario Muscat in favour of Andrew Hogg, the in-form Pietà Hotspurs netminder.
Marsaxlokk forward Andrè Schembri, who hit Malta's two goals against Hungary, has not been included in the list as he has only recently completed his rehabilitation from surgery after he broke his fifth metatarsal in the friendly against Lithuania.
Fitzel will send out his team in a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation today.
"Our tactical approach will not differ from recent matches," Fitzel commented.
"We will play 4-2-3-1 with two central midfielders in front of defence.
"I firmly believe that this is the best system for us to cover the spaces.
"I don't think we are in a position to play with two strikers but Michael Mifsud's free role behind the forward gives us a higher degree of flexibility.
"For this game, I expect the full-backs to contribute more to our attacking play.
"In previous matches, the team struggled to push forward along the flanks but with Roderick Briffa in the side, I am optimistic that we will be more effective."
The 25-year-old Briffa returns to the fold after nagging injuries dogged his progress over the past 12 months.
Briffa is expected to play at right-back but given his inclination to venture forward, Fitzel is likely to give him licence to switch positions with Kevin Sammut who is the leading contender for the right-midfield role.
The centre-half berths should go to Luke Dimech and Brian Said with Steve Wellman set to be patrol the left flank.
Skipper Gilbert Agius will play his 97th match in a Maltese shirt in a deep central position where he will be assisted by Jamie Pace.
George Mallia looks to have a slight edge over Ivan Woods for the left-midfield position and up front, Mifsud will play off the shoulder of Terrence Scerri.
The burly Hibs' forward is Fitzel's choice to step into Schembri's boots.
"Terrence will get a chance to show that he's got the qualities to play at this level," Fitzel said.
"He's sometimes a difficult player to work with because he has problems to concentrate 100 per cent on the finer points of football but he's doing his best.
"The older players, the likes of Gilbert Agius and Luke Dimech, have been talking to Scerri a lot during training to help him understand better what is expected of him during international games."
Domestic form
With the domestic league now past the halfway mark, the players should be close to the peak of their physical and technical powers.
Fitzel gave a typically honest assessment when asked for his views on the form of his players in the Premier League.
"There have been several games when the national team players made the difference for their teams but their performance levels are not consistent," Fitzel observed.
"I still believe that the players in the national squad can give more during domestic games as well as during training at Ta' Qali.
"That said, I am very satisfied when I see players trying to replicate patterns of play we had practised during training.
"The overall form of the national team players in the Premier League is quite good at the moment with the exception of Andrew Cohen who has not been at the top of his game lately."
Fitzel knows that Austria will be tough customers for Malta.
"This will be another difficult game for our team," Fitzel said.
"I am always upbeat about our chances of giving a solid performance but I also hope that none of the players suffers a long-term injury as happened to Schembri when we played Lithuania.
"I would also like to see many Maltese fans at the stadium. A sizeable home crowd will surely boost the players' confidence and willingness to give their all to make a positive impression."
Malta's formation (probable): J. Haber; L. Dimech, B. Said, S. Wellman, R. Briffa; J. Pace, G. Agius (captain), K. Sammut, G. Mallia, M. Mifsud, T. Scerri.
Referee: Carlo Bartolini (Swiss FA).