After years of frustration, the Malta national football team seems to have finally turned the page in an excellent UEFA nations league campaign during which coach Devis Mangia and his players have managed to rewrite history with a spate of impressive performances.

In the wake of a heart-breaking defeat to the Faroe Islands in Torshavn in its first outing of the competition, the national team gradually went from strength to strength, posting an unprecedented run of seven matches without defeat.

That series of positive results included wins over fellow European minnows Gibraltar (2-0), Latvia (1-0), Liechtenstein (3-0) and Andorra (3-1). A 1-1 draw against the Faroe Islands saw the team finish second in a qualifying group, the highest position ever achieved.

Beyond the positive results, what has impressed most is the fact that we are finally seeing a national team that is displaying a pre-set football identity. The players are trying to play positive attacking football, creating chances and scoring goals, something which we have rarely seen in the past.

Certainly, coach Mangia and his technical staff deserve all the praise for leading this revolutionary mindset. He is starting to reap the dividends from an ambitious project that had its roots in the work carried out by his predecessor, Ray Farrugia, who had the courage to launch a spate of young players now taking a central role in the national team project.

Malta's senior men's team celebrates a 3-1 win over Andorra. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

It is important now that everyone puts these positive results in perspective. This is just the start of a long-term effort of seeing the national team finally moving up the echelons of world football.

For Mangia and his coaching staff, the next few months represent a major challenge to try to replicate what we have witnessed in the UEFA Nations League in a far tougher arena: the World Cup qualifiers.

The national team will have to face some of the strongest teams in Europe and that will represent a major test of whether the squad is able to preserve its positive football identity and not fall back to negative tactics that bore little dividends in the past.

One key element in the recent success achieved by the national football team was the presence of so many young players. Their enthusiasm and hunger to succeed have regenerated the team’s spirit and brought about a new climate.

No doubt, any hope of a prolonged and sustained success for our national team will mostly depend on whether the Malta FA and its coaches are able to groom more young talent.

The launch of the Fondazzjoni Inħobb il-Futbol will be a crucial cog, as this foundation will help prospective national football players make the journey from the grassroots to the elite level.

One also hopes that the Malta FA’s plans to have a team playing in the Italian Serie C and a youth selection in the Primavera Championship will become a reality in the not-so-distant future. Such initiatives will provide a far more challenging platform for our most promising players.

Having young players plying their trade abroad is key to building a more competitive national team. That was also mirrored in our senior women selection, which has just achieved its best placing in a qualifying campaign, placing fifth in the group with a record seven-point tally.

Certainly, these are exciting times for Maltese football but hard work and sound investment will be crucial to make sure this trend continues well into the future.