HENRY BRINCAT

National coach Dusan Fitzel yesterday named his provisional squad for the forthcoming two European Championship qualifying matches against Greece, in Athens, and Norway, at Ta’ Qali.

With George Mallia of Birkirkara unavailable through work commitments and with Gilbert Agius still injured and Ivan Woods suspended, he will have a big problem to solve. Apart from Woods, Luke Dimech will also be unavailable for the Greece match through suspension. Both, however, will be back for the home match against Norway.

Speaking to journalists yesterday, Fitzel said Malta was facing two very difficult matches. “First we have the already qualified Greece. They are in a position to play in a relaxed manner with absolutely no problems, even if they lose or draw. I simply do not know what is best for us – whether to meet them under pressure, that is when they need points, or in the present state when, for them, there is nothing at stake.

“In the second match we will be facing Norway, possibly in a similar situation. When we face Greece, they will be meeting Turkey. If they beat the Turks, they will qualify and would be in the same position as Greece. But if they draw, they will have to beat us in Malta to qualify,” he said.

Fitzel admitted that Norway will be a strong side to face. “It has always been difficult for us to play against teams from northern Europe. They are physically strong and play direct football which can unsettle any team, let alone Malta. Besides, their season came to an end the past weekend and they will have two full weeks together in preparation for these two matches,” added Fitzel.

Fitzel went on to say that the training camp in Antalya will be most helpful. “I am very appreciative of the MFA’s cooperation in this matter. It should help to alleviate the problem of lack of matches for my players in the past few weeks. Last month I had complained because the players were playing a lot of games over a short period. Now it is the contrary. In future, we should discuss this problem together with the MFA in an effort to find a solution,” he added.

Fitzel said that Ivan Woods will be travelling to the Antalya training camp, but Michael Mifsud will only be joining the squad in Athens on Thursday as he will be in action next Monday in a televised match against West Bromwich. The coach from the Czech Republic also said that Ian Azzopardi, who had suffered an injury in the match against Moldova, is now almost fully fit and should be available for both matches.

Marsaxlokk midfielder Gareth Sciberras is among the players making the trip to Antalya and Greece. He had been out of the squad due to injury and personal problems since the start of the season.

Now that he is back, he is glad to be again on track. “There is a high team spirit in the squad and we are all excited at the fact that the team is once again attracting a large following at the Ta’ Qali Stadium. It is nice to see the fans joining forces in supporting the national team,” he said.

Under 21

The team will also be playing two matches, the first one in Romania on Friday 16 November and the next at home against Bosnia the following Tuesday, 20 November.

National coach Mark Miller said his side was facing tough times. We are in a tough group and the matches against Romania (away) and Bosnia (at home), will again be very difficult. We are missing three key players in Steve Bezzina, Andrei Agius and Andre Schembri, who is playing well for the national team, but is also still available to play for our side.

While Bezzina is injured, Agius has a problem with his club. “It seems as if he decides to come over to play for Malta, he would be risking to miss out on a regular place in his side over there,” said a disappointed Miller.

The English coach said that a good performance against Romania would instill confidence in the side for the match against Bosnia which is being played at the favourite ground of the Under 21 – the Hibs Ground. “I expect the team to stop making the silly errors which led to most of our defeats,” he said.