All the attention is on the World Cup but with the start of the 2010/11 UEFA club competitions fast approaching, Malta's European ambassadors will be striving to step up their preparations when they take part in this week's Euro Cup.
The pre-season competition gets under way this evening at the Centenary Stadium when champions Birkirkara take on Sliema Wanderers at 6.15 p.m.
Paul Zammit and Mark Marlow, the coaches of Birkirkara and Sliema respectively, will be hoping that today's warm-up yields some useful indications about their players' physical condition and the level of their foreign trialists.
Emiliano Lattes is expected to make his first appearance for Sliema this evening after Marlow advised the club to sign the former Msida forward.
Hungarian goalkeeper Viktor Szenpeteri is also likely to get the green light from Marlow to play after he left a good impression during his trial with Sliema who are looking for a replacement for Simon Agius.
Other foreign players who could earn a place in Marlow's 18-man squad are Nigerian goalkeeper Ini Aktpan, Andre Portulez, a Portuguese midfielder, Soare Souke Tidiane, a defender from Ivory Coast, and Valdo Concalves Alhinho, a Portuguese midfielder who has an amateur status.
Marlow can't field his strongest team today as Clayton Failla is recovering from a minor operation and Mark Scerri and Ivan Woods are sidelined with injuries.
"Our objectives are to win the competition and to boost our preparations for our matches in the Europa League," Marlow told The Times.
Sliema were the last Maltese team to gain a berth in the Europa League. The Blues secured qualification after beating Qormi 2-0 in a decider after the two teams finished joint-third in the BOV Premier League.
As the decider was played on June 1, the Sliema players have not had an adequate break since the end of the league campaign but Marlow is not worried that fatigue might take its toll on the Blues in their European commitments.
"We played our last official match on June 1 but I see our upcoming games as a continuation of the season," Marlow said. "The players had a week off and our training in the last few weeks focused mainly on technical and tactical aspects."
Birkirkara's Zammit has been assessing three foreign players in the past 10 days but only two will get the chance to further press their claim for a permanent contract through their participation in the Euro Cup.
Brazilian goalkeeper Ezequiel Lovizon, who has an Italian passport, is poised to figure for Birkirkara today, provided his international transfer certificate arrives on time.
Serbian defender Nikola Vukanac and Dutch forward Sylvano Comvalius, two key members of Birkirkara's title-winning squad, are also expected to be available today after both returned to Malta last weekend.
The other newcomer in Birkirkara's squad is Andrew Decesare, formerly of Tarxien Rainbows, who has penned a two-year deal with the champions. Birkirkara have also succeeded in sealing new deals with most of the players whose contract ran out at the end of last season.
Experienced midfielder George Mallia is the only out-of-contract player who has yet to reach agreement over a new deal with the Stripes.
Angus Buhagiar and Joseph Zerafa can't play today as they must serve a one-match suspension incurred after the final league match of last season.
Zammit sees the Euro Cup as a good platform to pep up his team's preparations for the Champions League matches.
"The Euro Cup is an important part of our preparations for the Champions League," the Birkirkara coach said.
"Even though we've been training for a considerable number of days and the fitness of the players is improving, you need games to regain that sharpness that is so essential when you're playing at a competitive level."
Birkirkara will play Valletta in the second game of the Euro Cup on Wednesday. Valletta face Sliema in the third and final match of this mini-league on Friday.