Former Italy star Andrea Pirlo says that Malta midfielder Andre Schembri is the toughest midfielder he has ever faced in competitive football, The Mirror reports.

Schembri will be lining up for Malta’s match against England today, and British media is extensively reporting the build-up towards the game.

In The Mirror article, Pirlo is quoted as saying that Schembri is “so demanding he told teammates not to pass him the ball because he couldn't get away from him and has dedicated a chapter to him in his autobiography.”

Schembri has made 74 appearances for Malta, making him the second most capped player in the squad for Saturday's game.

The 30-year-old is also one of only two players in the squad who does not ply his trade in his homeland, after joining Portuguese Primeira League side Boavista this summer.

In an interview with the Scottish Mail on Sunday in September, Schembri recalled their first meeting.

He said: "I was marking him, which is what our coach told me to do. I don't think I was more than five metres away from him the full match.

"During the game, he didn't speak to me, but he was speaking to the Italian defenders, saying to them: "Don't give me the ball, this d***head is with me all the time". I understand Italian, so I knew exactly what he was saying!

"And you could see their defenders were surprised because normally the first thing they do when they get the ball is look for Pirlo. But our idea was to stop him dictating the game. So they were a bit mixed up."

Schembri said he swapped shirts with Pirlo afterwards, but only so he could give it to a Juventus-supporting friend.

He added: "After the game, he came to me and said: "Why did you play like that?" I said: "My coach gave me instructions, I had to follow them or I won't play in the team".

The Malta midfielder admitted he had no idea Pirlo had written about him until he received a call from the team's press officer.

Schembri was also surprised when the pair faced each other three years later and Pirlo remembered him.

He added: "We played against one another three years later in Florence and when he saw me he gave me a little smile like: 'Oh no, you again'...

"I read the English version (of Pirlo's autobiography) and I read the lines about him saying I was so close he thought I wanted to marry him. I got married during the summer, so I'm taken!"