The Malta women’s national team are bracing themselves for a major international test as Mark Gatt’s side take on 14th-ranked Italy in their fifth Women’s Euro 2021 qualifier in Castel di Sangro, this afternoon (kick-off: 2.15pm).

Last Thursday, the Maltese girls put up a commendable showing against Israel as they earned their first point in Group B following a 1-1 draw. 

It was a performance that reaped the dividends of the hard work put in by the Maltese players in the build-up of these European qualifications. 

It’s been two years since the Maltese team was last involved in a qualifying campaign for a major tournament – the 2019 World Cup qualifiers in 2017.

Hence, these international commitments are serving as a useful platform for the girls to continue to build on the positives they have been showing during the past years while raising the profile of the Malteses movement. 

In Group B, Malta have already faced heavyweights Denmark away and Italy on home soil. The Denmark game proved to be a huge mountain to climb as the Nordics secured a large victory.

On the other hand, the Azzurre found the going tough against Malta and only managed to seal the win thanks to two late goals. 

In fact, for coach Gatt these were two learning experiences not only for the team but also for him as a coach.

Taking into account the Italy game played last month at the Centenary Stadium, the Maltese side had kept the Azzurre forward line at bay for long stretches and it was thanks to a piece of quality from Juventus forward Cristiana Girelli that the Italians claimed the spoils.

Gatt is upbeat about his team’s chances of producing the same gritty display as he eyes another organised performance from his selected players.

“It is important that our team remains organised and that the girls are aware of what is needed to be done on the pitch against Italy,” Gatt told Times of Malta. 

“We are aware that Italy will be a very tough opponent but we have some positives to take from our matches against both the Italians and most recently Israel and hopefully this will inject some much-needed self-belief in the players ahead of this difficult test.

Gatt said that when facing strong sides like Denmark and Italy it is imperative that the team settles into the match as quickly as possible because these countries start to press from the first whistle. 

“It is important that we settle early in the game because big teams like Italy will start to overload the offensive third eyeing an early lead to take control of the match,” Gatt said.

“We need to pay attention to a lot of details during this game, in particular their set-pieces as that is one area where Italy are very dangerous in as seen in their last group match against Georgia last week.”

Malta are at the back of a very positive showing against Israel  and while Gatt deems that match is part of the past, he is still looking to ensure his players take all the positives from it for the match against Italy.

“The Israel game was a match that we were looking forward to it and thankfully, our hard work has paid dividends as we scored and earned our first point,” he said.

“However, that game is the in the past now and it is imperative that we now think only about facing Italy.”

Gatt feels that the Israel game was a step in the right direction for his players as the team is not used to having a lot of possession in the final third.

“As a team we are not accustomed to having a lot of possession so in that sense, the match against Israel was of great benefit as we managed to hold the ball for long stretches and surely helped us to improve our decision-making when in possession,” Gatt said.

“It is fundamental for us to be cautious and brave in our possession, especially in a game like this one against a very strong team.”

The Italy game will be the final qualifier for the 2019 calendar. Gatt’s side will return to action in these preliminaries with a home double-header against Georgia (March 5) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (March 10). 

Italy without key duo

Italy head into the match against Malta brimming with confidence following their commanding 6-0 win over Georgia last week.

However, not everything was rosy for coach Milena Bertolini who lost two key players against the Georgians, namely captain Sara Gama and effervescent fullback Alia Guagni who had to leave the field after picking up serious injuries.

In fact, both the Juventus and Fiorentina skippers were replaced by Italy U-23 players Martina Lenzini, of Sassuolo and Beatrice Merlo, of Inter. 

Although Italy start as strong favourites in this game against Malta, coach Bertolini feels that her side will lose a bit of personality given the absence of their captain.

“We have won the first five games, so things are going well for us so far,” Bertolini told a news conference.

“The game against Malta will be more difficult than the Georgia as they are superior to them.

“We need to show a lot of respect to our opponents and ensure we take it very seriously. We have lost some key players for this match so whoever, comes in must be at his best if we are to get the right result.” 

PLAYING TODAY
Italy vs Malta 14.15
Israel vs Bosnia 17.00