In yet another stage in our national team’s preparation in view of the World Cup group matches starting in September, national team coach Dusan Fitzel will have another opportunity to assess the players in his squad to play Liechtenstein at Ta’ Qali National Stadium this evening.

This time our opponents come from the landlocked Principality which lies in the mountainous region between Switzerland and Austria.

The small State, more known for its excellence in winter sport as testified by the nine gold medals won in past years at the Olympic Games in alpine skiing, has only been competing in international football, albeit unofficially, since 1981 when, by co-incidence, they played Malta in Seoul in a friendly match which ended 1-1.

That was the only time the two countries met, a statistic borne out by the fact that at competitive level the two teams are generally separated since they occupy the lower echelons in the standings and consequently the group seedings.

A close look at the past records of this small country will reveal that despite having the odds stacked against them, Liechtenstein can boast of some significant competitive results in their short history.

Their 4-0 away win against Luxembourg in a 2006 World Cup qualifier stands out. That is followed by a remarkable 2-2 against the then losing finalists in Euro 2004, again in a World Cup group match. More recently they recorded victories in the 2008 Euro campaign when they defeated both Latvia and Iceland by a solitary goal.

Malta’s pedigree on the World and European competitive stage extends to almost half a century, and we too have a series of laudable results in competition, attested by victories over Estonia, Iceland, and more recently Hungary, and complemented by drawn matches again against the Magyars, Portugal, Iceland and Croatia.

Today’s friendly, apart from being a prestigious battle of the minnows, will offer both teams’ coaches the chance to analyse the qualities of the players at their disposal in their resolve to find new avenues for further progress.

After what many consider to be satisfactory displays of his men during last February’s International Tournament when several new and not so established faces were put in the fray, Fitzel has called other aspirants for international duty to perform alongside the more familiar ones, which will include all our foreign-based players.

Today Fitzel is expected to field another experimental formation, considering that he has dropped seven players from his squad (among them some regulars) not to mention that Cleaven Frendo and Justin Haber are also unavailable.

Fitzel will only be selecting his starting formation today but one expects the coach to build his side around the experience of Luke Dimech and Kenneth Scicluna at the back, Gilbert Agius and Jamie Pace in midfield, as well as Ivan Woods and Michael Mifsud in the front line. The five others could well be Roderick Briffa, Josef Mifsud, Shaun Bajada, Udo Nwoko and possibly youngster Ryan Fenech, though Kevin Sammut may be preferred to play on the flank.

Our coach’s work ethic is such that he expects each player to give his all for his country within the team’s framework. His array of lead and retreated strikers, midfielders, holding players and defenders will be under scrutiny in a match which demands that our troupes will have to shed off certain inhibitions, especially those stemming from some possible pressure resulting from too much expectation when confronting opponents more or less of the same calibre and on home soil.

All Maltese hope that our boys will perform with honour on Wednesday evening. Their support at Ta’ Qali will be needed. Although it is a friendly match, the national team still needs the support of every available supporter to lift its morale and determination on the field of play.

The prices of admission have been kept as low as possible (the same as those applying for Premier League matches), that is:

Entrance: West Side ‘A’ and ‘C’ - 8 Euro (Male Adults); 4 Euro (Women, Children and Senior Citizens)

Millennium Stand - 5 Euro (Male Adults); 4 Euro (Women, Children and Senior Citizens)