Scotland national coach Gordon Strachan said that his team has to be patient to break Malta down. Scotland will face Malta tomorrow at Hampden Park in a World Cup 2018 qualifier. Scotland are still with a chance to obtain second place in the group and gain access to play-offs, and they have to start by obtaining the three points at stake against Malta.
When addressing the press Strachan said his side played exceptionally well against Lithuania on Friday to obtain a 3-0 away win that keeps the Scots in the hunt for a World Cup berth. Strachan said that he was pleased with the way they kept possession of the ball and the way they maintained their tempo and created several scoring chances apart from the goals scored.
He said that against Malta his players have to repeat the same performance and be patient to try to break Malta’s organised defensive set up. He said that his side has to keep possession of the ball and push forward and wait for the best opportunity to break the deadlock.
He said that Malta are a well organised side and mentioned that against England on Friday at Ta’ Qali, the Maltese only gave in in the dying minutes of the game. He stressed that his side has to keep a high tempo and move the ball quickly to open up the Maltese backline. He also recalled that Scotland were somewhat lucky to obtain a high margin victory over Malta at Ta’ Qali a year ago.
He said that all his players are fit but he had to evaluate on his best possible eleven, as these back to back matches have their toll on the players’ efficiency. He said that his side evolved during these matches of the qualifying group, and he believes that his side should have had more points at this stage of the competition.
Strachan concluded that he is not looking at other results of the group today, even though these might put back Scotland back in the run for Russia. He said that the important thing is to play well and give the home crowd a good performance and obtain the points at stake.
Also addressing the press conference was Scottish captain Scott Brown. Like his manager he stressed that they have to keep possession of the ball and be patient to break the Malta defence. Brown said the Scottish fans should give the players a helping hand by their support.
Brown said that they are surely favourites to grab the points at stake against Malta today, but he said that they are not underestimating the Malta side. He said that although they played a good game in Vilnius against Lithuania on Friday, they have to keep focussed on tonight’s opponents.
The Celtic midfielder said that the players still believe in the second place in the group, which he considers it to be a great achievement, as everyone considered England as the super favourites to win this group.