MFA president Dr Joseph Mifsud made a passionate appeal for fans to give their full and vociferous support during the match at Ta’ Qali this evening.

He said facing the European champions was no joke, even if the team is boosted by Saturday’s result against Moldova.

He said the draw provided lots of satisfaction in the Maltese clan in Chisinau. “Before the match, we had predicted that we would get a positive result from these two matches. We have achieved that already. Now we only have to look forward with optimism, although we must also realise that we remain one of the smallest countries in Europe,” he said.

The MFA boss said that Saturday’s result had shown that the victory over Hungary and the draw against Austria were no freak results. “Fitzel and his players are working excellently with some serious preparation. We are happy with what is being done on the technical level. But we have to keep our feet to the ground. We must always remember that we are one of Europe’s smallest countries,” he said.

Dr Mifsud revealed that the MFA had decided to open all sides of the stadium for today’s match because public demand for tickets had been considerable. “We are expecting a large crowd this evening. We have already had a big demand for tickets at the Millennium Stand and the Enclosure. The North side will be open for the nurseries, while the South side is also being made available to the public for the price of Lm2.

Before the start of the news conference, a one-minute’s silence was observed in memory of Anthony Sciberras, father of national team player Gareth, who died on Sunday evening.