Malta coach Devis Mangia hopes his players will be ready for what promises to be a tough night as the national team take on Group H runners-up Croatia at the National Stadium today (kick-off: 20.45).
The Croatians arrived in Malta with one goal in mind – that to pick up all maximum points from their match so as to keep up the pressure on group leaders Russia ahead of Sunday’s decisive clash in Split that will decide who will finish top of the group and secure automatic qualification for next year’s finals in Qatar.
For Malta, on the other hand, the match against Croatia is another opportunity to continue to showcase their recent progress and try and pick up a valuable point that would cement this qualifying campaign as the most successful of all time with a record six-point haul.