Malta U-21 are braced for a tough campaign in the 2013 UEFA Championship when the draw was made in Nyon, yesterday.
Ray Farrugia’s team was pitted in a six-team Group Two along with the likes of top seeds Sweden and 2011 finalists Ukraine. Finland are also in the group along with Slovenia and Lithuania.
With Israel automatically qualifying for the finals in June 2013 as hosts, the remaining 52 teams were drawn in ten groups, eight with five teams and two with six.
Group stage matches will be played according to a round-robin format, kicking off on March 25 and concluding with the final games on September 10, 2012.
Malta start with an intriguing away double-header in Finland and Lithuania on June 3 and 7.
That will be followed by five successive matches at home against Slovenia (Sept. 2), Finland (Sept. 6), Ukraine (Oct. 7), Lithuania (Oct. 11) and Sweden (Nov. 15).
The ten group winners and four best runners-up will move on to the play-offs, with the winners of those seven two-legged ties joining Israel in the final tournament.
Malta played against Ukraine and Slovenia in the qualifying stages of the 2011 U-21 Championship but despite producing some battling displays at home and away, the team conceded four defeats against both nations.
Actually, the previous campaign yielded no dividends resultswise and Malta suffered eight losses and failed to score a single goal.
Despite the inauspicious position, Farrugia, who attended the draw in Switzerland yesterday, said he was confident his team will not finish empty-handed again.
“No doubt, we have to improve on the last edition. I’m always optimistic and I expect my players to be likewise.
“We’ve just started to assemble the squad but the first signs look positive,” Farrugia said.
“Next week, we’ll be travelling to Sicily for a friendly against Catania youths. The match will be played on Wednesday and it will be my first match since my appointment but I’m looking forward with great en-thusiasm for the qualifiers.
“Sweden and Ukraine are the top two and I consider our chances better against the other three teams.
“Nothing is impossible though and I want to convince my players that with hard work we can achieve most of our goals.”
Meanwhile, the draw largely kept apart this summer’s finalists, though surprise package Iceland were drawn in Group 8 along with 2009 runners-up England.
Elsewhere, five-time champions Italy were pitted against Turkey, Hungary, Ireland and Liechtenstein in Group 7.
Denmark, who qualified for this summer’s finals automatically as hosts, will play Serbia, N. Ireland, Macedonia and Faroe Islands in Group 4.
The 2011 U-21 UEFA Championship finals take place in June with Belarus, Czech Republic, England, Iceland, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine qualifying along with hosts Denmark.
The draw
Group 1: Germany, Belarus, Greece, Bosnia, Cyprus, San Marino.
Group 2: Sweden, Ukraine, Finland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta.
Group 3: Czech Republic, Wales, Armenia, Montenegro, Andorra.
Group 4: Serbia, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Macedonia, Faroe Islands.
Group 5: Spain, Switzerland, Croatia, Georgia, Estonia.
Group 6: Russia, Portugal, Moldova, Poland, Albania.
Group 7: Italy, Turkey, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein.
Group 8: England, Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Azerbaijan.
Group 9: Romania, France, Slovakia, Latvia, Kazakhstan.
Group 10: Netherlands, Austria, Scotland, Bulgaria, Luxembourg.