Spain may have returned home with the three points in the bag courtesy of an Alvaro Morata double but it was the Maltese national team who took the majority of the plaudits after a plucky display that frustrated their more illustrious opponents for much of the encounter.

La Roja headed to the National Stadium after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Norway in their opening match and were determined to use their match against Malta as a perfect opportunity to lay down a marker that they are slowly rediscovering their best form.

In the build-up of the game, the Spanish media made sure to remind us about the humiliating 12-1 defeat in Sevilla way back in 1983 in the hope that their Spanish Armada would at least come close to that feat.

However, the Maltese players showed a lot of confidence and desire to play and although a defeat always remains a defeat, coach Ray Farrugia has surely left the field with more answers than questions.

The main objective in this double-header was at least a win over the Faroe Islands, which the Reds managed to collect.

Moreover though, Farrugia’s clan were seeking to restore some much-needed credibility, not only through the results but also through their performances.

Targeting a win against Spain, back-to-back European champions in 2008 and 2012 with a World Cup triumph in between, was not realistic.

Yet, an objective was still set for the Maltese in this game – continuity and development from the display put up against the Faroese.

Throughout the game, Malta tried to take care more of the ball rather than clearing it away from their feet. It was not always successful, as the players themselves underlined as well, but that shows a different way of approach to the game which makes us hopeful of this team’s potential.

“Against Spain we were compact and I think in these two matches we put on display our work at the back,” Zach Muscat told the Times of Malta.

“Unfortunately, Spain capitalised on our mistakes and I think we also struggled to have possession in certain moments of the game.

“However, the attitude was right and we are all trying to put into practice the message of the coach which is to start to attack more rather than stay pinned in our half.”

With the Maltese blocking access inside the eighteen to the Spanish, the latter were trying to exploit the half-spaces, with Sergi Roberto becoming their best weapon as he was constantly running down the right-flank and connecting with the nearest team-mate, usually Marco Asensio.

Farrugia showed that together with his technical staff, they studied their opponents very well as they were making sure to block all passing channels. Moreover, there and then the Maltese were also pushing themselves higher on the field while making it difficult for the Spanish to express their creativity.

Make no mistake, the retirements of the likes of Andres Iniesta and David Silva did no good to Spain as it seems that all the creativity burden has fallen on to the feet of Sergio Ramos, an all-rounder-defender who was often dictating the game himself in Malta’s own half.

Going forward, it proved difficult for the Maltese to create any harm to the Spanish and bar a couple of shaky moments at the back, Luis Enrique’s team was never under any threat.

However, this should not dishearten the Maltese because we still had numbers in their third during some moments of the game. When a team is used to defend rather than be methodical with the ball, facing such opponents is not easy because they do not give you any time to think and the Maltese players are accustomed to different game rhythms.

Positive changes

Whenever Malta faced tougher oppositions, we were used to see defensive changes as soon as the clock ticked the hour mark, even if there was a deficit of just one goal to cancel out.

Under Farrugia, offensive substitutions are becoming the trend - most probably, the first real example was against Kosovo at home, when at 1-0 down, the Malta coach had introduced Michael Mifsud and Alfred Effiong early in the second half.

In the Spain game, when the La Roja was leading 1-0, Malta could have easily sat at the back and added more defenders to preserve the one-goal deficit because it might have looked a very respectable result.

Yet, Farrugia opted to put Mifsud and Rowen Muscat into the fray to inject an offensive boost to the side in an attempt to shock Spain – whether it was successful or not is secondary.

What was important is the message behind the substitutions – until you are in the game, play your cards to win and not to ‘preserve a respectable defeat’.

The message looks to be received and accepted by the players according to what their thoughts have been after the game.

“The youngsters are helping this team to improve and with the experience of the veterans, one can expect much more from this side,” Joseph Mbong said.

“We cannot look back now because we are in a process of development and every game should be a step forward for us now. Against the Faroe Islands we had a commanding showing and that should be the benchmark for us,” Rowen Muscat added.

Previous coaches used to lament that there was not enough players to choose from and that we lacked technical players in various roles. In these two games, Farrugia has shown that sometimes putting faith in individuals can be enough for them to showcase themselves.

there is no doubt that tougher tests are on the horizon, but surely they will be an opportunity to cherish if the Maltese players continue to base their game on grit, determination and creativity.