Malta national football team caretaker coach Robert Gatt said today that the friendly against Liechtenstein tomorrow was important for Malta ahead of the World Cup qualifiers and a test for several players.

Speaking at the Excelsior Hotel, where the team is currently housed, Mr Gatt said the objective was always to win the match, but his priority was to introduce and test new players to see how they coped in international football.

He felt that this mixture of new and experienced players should lead the team to a positive result.

Gatt is introducing Bjorn Kristensen (Hibs), Edmond Agius (Valletta) and goaler Henry Bonello (Sliema) and the squad also sees the return of Luke Dimech after an absence of two years from international football.

Malta last played Liechtenstein in 2008 and won 7-1 but Gatt cautioned that no comparisons should be made with that game since matters had changed a lot since then.

Under 21 coach Ray Farrugia, speaking about tomorrow's match against Hungary (3 p.m. Hibs ground) said this was important preparation ahead of the qualifiers against Slovenia and Sweden. He pointed out that he too was introducing a number of players, but their retention in the squad depended on their performance anc ommitment to training.