"It's a pity that Andrè Schembri can't play," Dusan Fitzel, the Malta coach, told The Times on the eve of Saturday's World Cup 2010 home qualifier against Portugal.

"He has improved a lot since he went to play in Germany... Andrè has become an important player for us."

Long hailed as one of Malta's brightest football prospects, Schembri has been a permanent fixture in the national team for the last three years.

A red card in the 4-1 defeat to Norway in their final Euro 2008 qualifier last year meant that he was ineligible to face the Portuguese. The absence from such a lucrative match, left Schembri feeling frustrated but he's now raring to go as Malta step up their preparations for tomorrow's qualifier against Albania at the Qemal Stafa Stadium in Tirana.

"I was disappointed to miss out on Portugal but I'm now looking forward to the match against Albania," Schembri told The Times.

"I've been doing my utmost in training to show that I deserve to be in the starting line-up because my place in the team is not guaranteed."

A 4-0 upset in the opening qualifier can only have diminished Maltese morale and self-confidence but Schembri is sure that the team will raise their game against Albania.

"I know it's hard to be positive after a 4-0 defeat but I still think that Saturday's game was a very useful run-out for our team," Schembri remarked.

"I say this from experience because we tend to struggle to adapt to the high tempo of international football in our first competitive outing. Now that the team have been involved in a tough qualifier against one of the world's best teams, I'm optimistic that we will show an improvement in the second game.

"Two years ago we lost 5-2 at home to Bosnia before travelling to Frankfurt to face Turkey. At the time, everyone thought that Malta would suffer a heavy defeat but we only lost 2-0 to Turkey and our performance was satisfactory."

Despite his optimism, Schembri knows that Malta face another mammoth task to get something from Albania who started their qualifying trek with a goalless draw at home to Sweden.

"Albania have been making rapid progress in the last few years," Schembri, 22, commented.

"They have players in some of the top leagues in Europe, like the Serie A and Bundesliga. It's going to be another difficult match for us but nothing is impossible."

Schembri is one of only four foreign-based players in Malta's 18-man squad, the others being Michael Mifsud (Coventry City), Justin Haber (Sheffield United) and Etienne Barbara (SC Verle).

Schembri, formerly of Marsaxlokk, joined third division club Carl Zeiss Jena last summer after a one-year stint with Eintracht Braunschweig.

Schembri may not be playing at the top level of German football but, as Fitzel said, his career has clearly benefited from his switch to a professional club.

"Fitness-wise, I have become stronger since I moved to Germany," Schembri said.

"My attitude to football has also changed. When you're a professional footballer, you think and live in a professional way, that's the main difference I guess."

The Malta striker has settled in nicely at Carl Zeiss Jena.

"I'm happy at my new club," Schembri said.

"The main thing is that I'm now playing in my favourite position as a central striker. The championship we're in is very competitive especially after the organisers merged the south and north regional leagues.

"I've got a one-year contract with Jena. My ambition is to move to a bigger club in future and I think this league is a good stepping stone."

Malta squad in Tirana

The chartered Air Malta flight carrying the Malta FA contingent and around 40 other passengers, including some fans who joined a tour organised by Mondial Travel, touched down in Tirana in the early hours of yesterday.

Ivan Woods, a starter against Portugal, had to pull out of the squad after suffering a slight thigh injury on Saturday. His withdrawal spared Fitzel the 'awkward' decision of having to drop another player from his selection to make way for the returning Schembri.

Roderick Briffa hurt his right hand on Saturday but the injury will not prevent the Sliema player, deployed at right-back against Portugal, from lining up against Albania tomorrow.

Yesterday evening, the Maltese squad had their first practice session at the training grounds of local club Dinamo Tirana. This evening, they will train at the Qemal Stafa Stadium, venue of tomorrow's qualifier.

The referee of the match is Robert Schoergenhofer, from Austria.