Malta players given time to rest before resuming preparations

Malta made a low-key arrival at the Zagreb airport yesterday morning ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Croatia tomorrow at the Maksimir Stadium (kick-off: 6 p.m.).

Visibly weary after their Easter Monday early-morning flight, Horst Heese's players made their way out of the arrivals lounge where the light emanating from a photographer's flashgun was the only thing that captured their attention before they boarded a coach that drove them to the Sheraton Hotel.

No training was held during the morning as Heese instructed his players to rest before they convened again in the afternoon for a meeting during which assistant coach Carmel Busuttil, who has been in Zagreb since Thursday, delivered his assessment of Malta's impending opponents after watching their 4-0 rout of Iceland on Saturday.

Busuttil was not alone in linking up with the squad yesterday as Luke Dimech, who plays for Mansfield Town, also joined his international team-mates.

Lillestrom's Michael Mifsud was at first expected to travel to Zagreb from Norway but he opted to make a fleeting visit to Malta and linked up with the rest of the 60-strong MFA contingent, spearheaded by president Joe Mifsud.

Heese is keeping mum on his formation for tomorrow's encounter against a team who have top spot in Group Eight firmly in their sights after their win over Iceland lifted them to second, just two points below Sweden, 3-0 victors over Bulgaria on Saturday.

However, the indications from the team's training sessions are that Heese is thinking about bringing in some new faces with the likes of Peter Pullicino, Massimo Grima and Kevin Sammut being given serious consideration for a first-team berth.

The squad are due to have a light training session this morning and another one at 6 p.m, at the Maksimir Stadium.

Mark Miller, the Malta U-21 coach, also met Busuttil yesterday and was expected to watch the video of Croatia's 2-1 win over Iceland on Friday.

Charles Scerri, the former Malta and Hibs winger, is acting as assistant coach to Miller in Croatia, filling in for his former international team-mate Silvio Vella who could not make the trip.