Malta’s Women National Team coach Mark Gatt announced he will be offering the best squad the team has ever had for the side’s Euro 2021 Group B qualifying match against Italy on Friday.
In the pre-match press conference for Malta’s first home match of the qualifiers, Gatt explained that the team feels much more prepared, despite past results and that they are “looking forward to play” against Italy.
“It will be an opportunity to show that, bit by bit, our level (of football) is rising.
“We hope to offer good resistance to the Italy side which was also part of the World Cup. Obviously, we can also expect a spectacle from them too. We’ve got great respect for our opponents but we’re not afraid.”
The Malta coach admitted that to him the important thing would be the level of effort his players will show. “Whatever the score, the most important thing is that we give our 100%,” Gatt admitted, “The only way I won’t be satisfied is if the players do not give their maximum tomorrow (Friday)”.
Gatt was accompanied by captain Dorianne Theuma who will be playing her 94th match as a Maltese international player. “It’s a great opportunity for Maltese players to play this match against Italy. There aren’t many occasions where we get to play against this level of players,” Theuma said.
“I know it’s going to be a difficult match, but I believe we’ve prepared well, and we’ll do as much as we can to get a good result.”
While Birkirkara’s Alishia Sultana has been ruled out through injury, the squad can still rely on most of the players present against Demark and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Among these are five players who ply their trade overseas- Maria Farrugia of Sunderland AFC Ladies, PSV Eindhoven’s Rachel Cuschieri, Florentia San Gimignano’s Emma Lipman and now also Nicole Sciberras and Shona Zammit who play for Juventus and Pink Bari respectively.
“Considering the number of players playing abroad, this proposes a bright future for the women’s game and I’m sure, further on, this experience will be much more vast,” Gatt remarked.
While this choice of players representing Malta with their respective teams abroad is positive, Gatt admitted that because most of them have just began their careers as professionals, it is still early days to start experiencing the impact these kinds of players can leave on the national team. “I think the impact that these players leave will show in two or three years’ time.
“But it helps to have players who are living as professionals and training daily which is a completely different story from others who have to work as well.”