Malta will lock horns in a friendly against Liechtenstein on Wednesday at 7.30 pm at Ta' Qali National Stadium.

This will be the first outing of the national team before further preparatory matches leading to the two 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group B European Zone matches in September at home to Armenia and away to Italy.

Malta will be under the temporary charge of technical director Robert Gatt who has assumed technical responsibilities until the appointment of a new coach. Gatt's immediate objective is to prepare a squad of players which should form the backbone of the Malta team in the matches to come. He has to pick players from those available at home and others doing duty with overseas teams and has already said that he is keeping his options open as to the choice of his units.

The friendly matches present Gatt with an opportunity to assess the players available and try out several game plans

The match against Liechtenstein will be the first of such build-up matches which will also serve to lay emphasis on morale-building.