Malta's chances of reaching the next qualifying round of the 2007 World Cup will be severely tested this afternoon when they face the strong challenge of Serbia and Montenegro at the Hibs Ground (kick-off: 2 p.m.).
Trailing in fourth place after their opening two Pool D matches, Damien Neill's men must beat direct opponents Serbia and Bulgaria, in Sofia next week, if they are to secure one of the two automatic places to the next round to be played in October.
Poland, who beat Malta 38-13 in November, are leading the group with two wins from two matches. Serbia, with one win and a draw, and Switzerland, with one win, two losses and a draw, are sharing second place in the group. Malta are next with one win and a defeat followed by Bulgaria who lost two matches so far.
Serbia are an old acquaintance for Malta. In March 2004, these two teams met in a Euro Championship qualifier at Marsa. Malta came from behind to win the match 20-18.
Rohan Spiteri was the architect behind Malta's success that day when he converted five penalty kicks. But the most eye-catching factor was the massive strength of the Serbia pack. They created several problems to the Maltese team.
Neill cannot bank on Spiteri's prowess today as the Australia-based flyhalf underwent surgery this week to cure a shoulder injury which will rule him out of action for the next six months. Centre Adam Magro is another key player missing from today's match as the experienced centre is in Australia on family matters.
With these two important players missing, the team will certainly rely on the experience of Dean Zammit.
Today he plays his third match for Malta. The prop has been one of the most impressive performers of the team lately.
Despite not forming part of the squad that beat Serbia last year, Zammit has a clear indication of what lies ahead today and is ready for the battle.
"Serbia will be a very demanding test for us," Zammit told The Times.
"They are a very physical team who will battle hard for every ball. We have to show good defensive organisation in scrums and line-outs.
"Our defeat to Poland set the alarm bells ringing. On the day we failed to perform. But that defeat was a blessing in disguise in a way. We had time to analyse our performance and worked hard to correct mistakes. There is a great team spirit at the moment... against Serbia we will show that we are back to our best."
At 33, Zammit, who plays for the Vikings in the Canberra league, is inevitably one of the leaders of the team. During his career in Australia he played some top-level rugby when turning out for the Brummies in the prestigious Super 12 league and also had spells in the US and Japan.
Having so much experience Zammit knows that everybody expects great things from him but he is unfazed by the extra responsibility.
"Pressure is something I had to contend with throughout all my career. I don't think it's a negative factor. It's good to have some pressure because it keeps my level of concentration high," he said. "Playing for Malta was the best thing that could have happened to me in the last few years.
"Reaching the finals is a distant target and although it is a very difficult task given our limitations, I'm ready to help my national team live this dream... a victory against Serbia will put us on the brink of qualification."
The squad: D. Zammit; H. Collins; M. Mallia; I. Borda; T. Webb; L. Watts; R. Bonavia; D. Gasan; S. Kempster; D. St George; P. Cioffi; D. Grima; J. Dimmond; D. Busuttil; M. Cuschieri; J. Caruana; M. Mirabelli; O. Sacco; N. Warren; C. Vassallo; J. Sultana; S. Doublesin.
Results so far: Poland vs Switzerland 20-15; Switzerland vs Malta 8-17; Malta vs Poland 13-38; Serbia vs Bulgaria 33-10; Switzerland vs Bulgaria 43-3; Serbia vs Switzerland 11-11.
Standings: Poland 4; Serbia, Switzerland 3; Malta 2; Bulgaria 0.
Next fixtures: Today - Malta vs Serbia. April 16 - Bulgaria vs Malta. May 7 - Poland vs Serbia. To be confirmed - Bulgaria vs Poland.