Sweden are striving to capitalise on their home clash against Malta to give themselves a much-needed morale-booster ahead of Monday’s crucial qualifier against Spain which could have a major implication on their hopes of securing a place in next year’s European Championships.
Yet, coach Janne Andersson, is aware of the difficulty that such game can bring to his team and he is doing all he can to try and keep his players with their feet rooted to the ground.
Having scouted the Malta national team during their first two qualifying matches against the Faroe Islands (2-1) and Spain (0-2), Andersson knows that his team must be patient to break down Ray Farrugia’s clan.
“We have seen Malta’s videos a lot of times in order to gain as much information as possible about them before our fixture,” Andersson told a news conference, yesterday.
“While we are looking to win this game, we know that we have to be at our best to claim the three points because nothing should be taken for granted in this group.”
Andersson, who steered Sweden towards the 2018 World Cup quarter finals last summer, described Malta as a “hard working team”, adding also that he was impressed by the way the team imposed itself on the field in both matches.
“Malta is a team that emphasises a lot on the defensive side of the game, they know how to defend so for sure they will be making life difficult for us,” he explained.
“Moreover, they are not a team that scores a lot but that does not mean that they can’t produce positive football on the field.
“At the end, despite they are a really organised team, we will be doing our best to give our fans a pleasant night and add three more points to our tally.”
Asked about whether Monday’s fixture against Spain would have a bearing on his team selection, Andersson said that the Malta game is already a tricky one by itself and he intends to deploy the his strongest formation come tonight’s game.
Scoring issues
Goal-difference could become a decisive factor in this group should there be the need of a tie break to determine the qualifying teams from this group.
A home game against one of the lowest-ranked teams in the group could be the ideal occasion for the Swedes to add to their five goals they have already scored in their previous couple of outings – a 2-1 win over Romania and a 3-3 draw against Norway.
Midfielder Albin Ekdal, who is on the books of Sampdoria and is one of the pillars of this Sweden side, said that scoring a good number of goals against Malta would be a bonus, but that is not their primary objective.
“Obviously, we would be happy if we manage to score a lot of goals but that is not our concern,” the former Juventus midfielder said.
“Winning the game itself sometimes is hard enough on itself, so we have to work step by step and see what type of result we can register against Malta.”