MALTA 6

ITALY 23

(1-4, 1-7, 3-5, 1-6)

A slick Italian side on Thursday showed Milan Cirovic’s side the size of the task they will face next month in Croatia at the European Championship finals.

It was more of a training session for the Sette Bello at the inaugural match of the Christmas International Tournament, who were under control from start to finish as Malta were unable to cope with their opponents’ speed.

Malta coach Cirovic admitted that this was a wake-up call for the national team.

“Of course, our aim target is not teams like Italy but Israel and Germany. However, the Italians have giving us a taste of what to expect on the last day of the group when we will face Olympic champions Serbia.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t expect such a big difference but we have to admit that the Italians are world class and we are a young side and this group of players has the potential to grow further. We need to train more and work harder if we want to attain our goals, he added.

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com

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