A change in the qualification format will see the Malta women’s national team clash with some of the best teams on the European continent as they open their Women’s Euro 2021 campaign against 2017 finalists Denmark, tomorrow in Viborg (kick-off: 6pm).
This will be Malta’s fifth European qualifying campaign.
In previous years, the national team had to go through a preliminary round facing teams of their same level with the exception of their debut campaign in 2005 which saw them play in a Category Two qualifier that had no Euros berth at stake.
The last qualifying campaign for the 2017 European Championships was a heart-breaking experience for the Maltese girls as after winning their opening two group games, which included a stoppage-time victory over Georgia, they lost to Faroe Islands in the final match, missing out on a place to the next round.
It was the first major international appointment for Malta coach Mark Gatt and after guiding the team through the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, where Malta faced the likes of Kosovo, Greece and Albania, he will be now leading the team against fast stronger opponents as the team was drawn to face Denmark and Italy, who both featured in this summer’s World Cup in France, Bosnia, Georgia and Israel.
“When we discovered our opponents, we were really looking forward to embark on this qualifying journey which is set to be a great learning experience for us,” Gatt told the Times of Malta.
“We are aware of the level of difficulty in our group, but we have been working hard throughout the summer to arrive in our best shape for this tournament and hopefully now we take the ground running of course.”
Facing stronger sides is always a difficult task for a nation like Malta, in particular because countries like Denmark and Italy have a deeper pool of players from where to choose from.
Nonetheless, coach Gatt is hopeful that his players can be up for this challenge and prove that the level on our islands is improving.
“Coaching Malta is always difficult when you are facing much stronger nations but we have to take it as a challenge,” Gatt explained.
“On the other hand, it is an opportunity for my players to familiarise themselves with such environments and help them to improve their game from all aspects. It’s important that we increase the pool of players available and one of my aims when I was appointed at the helm of the national team was to call up different players from different clubs.”
Throughout his four-year term Gatt has introduced a lot of new faces, including young Haley Bugeja who topped last year’s senior and U-19s championships top scorer lists.
Unfortunately, Gatt cannot bank on the Mġarr United striker due to age rules restrictions but she will be able to play for the team as from 2020.
No inferiority complex
There is no doubt that the players will be nervous when facing stronger opponents but coach Gatt feels that his team should not feel any inferiority complex towards their opponents.
“While we have to respect our opponents, it is important that my players do not feel inferior,” Gatt said.
“We have several players plying their trade abroad and that is very beneficial because they can share their experiences in the dressing room.
“Moreover, I feel that we have other players in our team that can prove themselves abroad and this tournament will be a good opportunity for them to showcase their talent.
“Realistically it will be difficult for us to play attacking football against Denmark and Italy but I feel that we can show our real strength in the other matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia and Israel and use it as a way to show how far Maltese women’s football has improved over the years.”