Joe Caruana Curran, president of the Aquatic Sports Association (ASA), is upbeat on Malta’s chances of achieving their best placing in the 2020 European Championships in Budapest after the team was given a proper preparation.

The Malta waterpolo national team were drawn in Group C alongside hosts Hungary, 2016 European Championship finalists Spain and Turkey.

Malta open their campaign on Tuesday when they face Spain before taking on Turkey on Thursday. They play their final group match against Hungary tomorrow week.

Speaking to the media just days before the waterpolo national team heads to Hungary, Caruana Curran said that the ASA and the national team’s technical staff had done everything in their power to provide the team a perfect run-in for their third successive appearance in the European showpiece.

“I believe that we’re heading into the European Championships in the best possible shape,” Caruana Curran told a news conference.

“Since our qualification, we lined up a good preparatory programme and managed to bring to our shores a number of strong overseas teams, like Ortigia and Palermo, that turned out to be excellent sparring partners for our team particularly at a time of the year when there are no international matches scheduled.

“Added to that we also travelled to Ostia, Italy, where we played matches against the U-20 national teams of Italy and Serbia, who are also preparing for the world championships.”

The ASA president said that participation in the competition that features the 16 best countries in Europe is a perfect learning curve for the Maltese players.

“To compete in the European Championships for a third successive time is a prestigious feat for our association,” Caruana Curran said.

“We are aware that we will be up against some of the world’s best teams in the sport but for both the players and the technical staff we need to make the most of the opportunity. The majority of these players have already been in these championships and have learnt a lot and this is a continuation of such a learning experience.

“But there is no hiding that our key match in the group stages is against Turkey.

“If we beat Turkey we will assure ourselves of improving our ranking position on the continent that will surely help us in future draws for major tournaments.”

On his part, coach Karl Izzo said that he was pleased with his team’s preparation and admitted that previous experiences in these championships has ensured they lined up a proper training programme.

“These are our third European Championship finals and this time we have really prepared well for this competition,” the Malta coach said.

“In 2016 I thought that we would be better prepared as the championships came midway through our summer championship but it was not the case as the players came into the tournament tired from their domestic endeavours.

“This time we learnt from our previous mistakes and made sure to give our players everything necessary to arrive for this tournament in the best possible condition. We started with gym work in October and then switched to water training as from November with double sessions.

“I’m also grateful to our physio Edward Bonello who during this time has worked hard with some players who were carrying injuries and his contribution ensured that we are heading for this competition with the strongest possible squad.”

Final selection

The Malta coach finalised his 13-man squad yesterday which saw Nikolai Zammit, Jake Tanti and Ian Galea missing out on a place in the team.

“My final team selection is very similar to the one we had in Barcelona as ten of the 13-man squad were part of the team that played in 2016,” Izzo said.

“Jordan Camilleri is our only real concern, given that he is coming from a shoulder injury but thankfully he is slowing recovering his best form.

“In the last few days, he trained normally and played for us against Ortigia this week and hopefully he will be in good shape for our first match against Spain.”

Team captain Steve Camilleri said that past experiences in this tournament could be a major factor for the team to perform better than in previous tournaments.

“The secret in such championships is that you learn how to pace your energy,” Camilleri said.

“Having played in two editions in these championships is a major plus for us as we know what to expect. One major advantage this time around is that the team has been together for several weeks so hopefully there is great bond between us and that is very important before facing strong opponents.

“Hopefully we can deliver the result everyone is hoping for.”

MALTA SQUAD

N. Grixti, J. Gabaretta, A. Galea, G. Pace, Darren Zammit, M. Zammit, S. Camilleri, J. Camilleri, J. Abela, A. Cousin, B. Plumpton, Dino Zammit, A. Borg Cole.

PROGRAMME

TUESDAY: Malta vs Spain.

THURSDAY: Malta vs Turkey.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 18: Malta vs Hungary.

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