After last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat against Denmark in Copenhagen, Malta will again be in action this evening, though at home at the Ta’ Qali national stadium.

Having started our commitments in the Group with three successive defeats, one sincerely hopes that our team will be able to achieve its first positive result in the competition.

However, despite having beaten Hungary 2-1 at the same stadium two years ago, this does not mean that we will be beating them again this evening. We must all keep our feet to the ground, be humble and just hope for the best. One thing is certain. It will again be difficult as all matches played against teams of a higher level than ours, as are Hungary.

I was sad to see our players beaten 3-0 by Denmark on Saturday. Of course, I was disappointed like all local football followers, but I cannot agree with what many are describing as a national team crisis. The only crisis I can see at present is that we are no longer scoring. But after all, what would have we achieved had we scored at least once against Denmark on Saturday? Was there anyone who might have entertained hopes of beating Denmark or holding to a draw in their own den?

Considering everything, the result does not make me blush. Losing 3-0 to a former European champion side is certainly no humiliation. It was the defeats against Luxembourg and Faroe Islands in the past that humiliated us all and made us blush. Those teams were more or less of the same calibre as ours.

What I did not like was the performance of some players in the first half. It left a lot to be desired. And had it not been for the great performance of Justin Haber between the posts, then I am sure it would have been a humiliation. But after all, Haber is just one of those 11 on the field of play and he did his job almost to perfection – perhaps he had a little fault in the third goal. Otherwise Sheffield United must have noted his great abilities.

It was thanks to his inspiration – and also because Denmark slowed down a bit – that our players improved somewhat on the changeover. At least, we managed three corner-kicks and had three shots on goal.

That performance must surely have convinced Fitzel to keep Haber between the Malta posts this evening. I would be surprised to the utmost were Hogg or Muscat to be preferred. But the same cannot be said for most of the others, except of course, for Michael Mifsud.

Let us all be realistic. Against such aggressive opponents as Denmark were, especially in the first half, we will never have any chance. We cannot expect miracles from our players, most of whom play in a league which is sub-standard, when compared to most leagues (not those in Italy, England, Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands not to mention others) in Europe.

This is the same old story which we must all admit is a recurring one indeed. It is our biggest disadvantage when facing such opponents who are 100 per cent professionals. The fact that we only have a handful of full time professionals as well as having big limitations in the selection process locally, further increases our miseries.

Former top players as Ray Vella, John Buttigieg and Carmel Busuttil will all confirm how difficult it is to face the full time professionals from any country. Even with those three great players forming the backbone of the side, on most occasions, we were always dealt big setbacks and we also suffered heavy defeats.

It is easy to put the blame on anyone, including the coach. But I am sure that it is no one’s fault. We have to accept the fact that Malta was, is and will still remain SMALL for ever and that means that we will remain ‘handicapped’ for most of the time.

All that we can hope for is that we produce a magnificent performance every now and then which gives us some satisfaction as was the case in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Who can deny that our Group in these World Cup qualifiers is one of the strongest we have ever faced? Deep down in our hearts, we all know that it would have to be a miracle to get some positive results, at least against Denmark, Sweden and Portugal, whether at home or away. Against Albania we have already lost away and Hungary are ranked 21 steps higher than Albania in the rankings. So what can we expect this evening?

What I expect is a fighting Malta side doing its best to get a positive result, even if we have to play on the defensive to keep our opponents at bay. By this I do not mean that we have to abandon the attack. Far from it. It is a home match and it is here, in Malta, that we have to make better use of our strikers. Yet, and I feel this is important, we must also show prudence and be more cautious at the back.

Many might expect Fitzel to make some notable changes for this evening’s clash. But, in my opinion, this should not be necessary. As he quite rightly said last Monday, he is limited in his selection, and it is generally agreed that his squad mostly includes the best players on the island.

It is also possible that he might recall Kenneth Scicluna and veteran Brian Said to bolster the defence.

So let us all get behind the team in one concerted effort to see it winning back some lost prestige.

Probable line-up: Justin Haber, K. Scicluna, B. Said, L. Dimech, I. Azzopardi; R. Briffa, G. Agius, J. Pace, I. Woods; M. Mifsud, A. Schembri