National coach John Buttigieg hopes to see the condition of his national team players improving when Malta faces the Central Africa Republic this evening at Ta’ Qali national Stadium (kick-off 8.30pm).

Addressing the press yesterday, the national coach said they had encountered a good number of difficulties in the preparation for this match. “Some of the players hailing from Valletta, Birkirkara and Floriana had little time for a rest between one season and another. After the past season, they were needed almost immediately by their clubs to prepare for the European club clashes while the others – from those who played in the relegation pool – were inactive since the end of April. This was a handicap for us, but I hope to see continued improvement over the past performances,” he said.

Buttigieg said this was an important match. “Although it is a friendly, it is always important. It is very useful preparation for the forthcoming tough European Championship qualifiers. Following this match we will be able to see what we have to do in the next few weeks before playing the first of those remaining four matches in September. We have to see that we do not repeat the mistakes we have done in the past,” he said.

Buttigieg said that despite everything, he is convinced the players will produce their best this evening as they have done on most occasions when playing for the national team. “Christian Caruana is one player who will be eagerly awaiting to make his debut for the national team in this match. He is a very talented player and I think he stands a good chance of making the grade in this match as we are allowed to make six substitutions during the encounter,” said the coach.

Buttigieg also said that he is certainly not worried about Malta’s ranking in the FIFA list. He added: “No one really cares about ranking lists. Once we occupied 16th place in Europe, alongside England, but that did not mean that we were on the same level as the English. We are a small team and we always look forward to perform well in every match we play,” he said.

Malta captain Michael Mifsud also addressed the press yesterday saying that he is happy to be playing for Valletta once again.

Mifsud said such matches as that of today help towards the build-up for the forthcoming matches which will be more difficult.

When asked if there still lies the possibility of him joining a foreign club, Mifsud did not deny that the door is still open. “There could always be something in the pipeline,” he stated.

MFA Technical Director Robert Gatt spoke about a suggestion made to the clubs to play the league from January onwards (possibly till mid-November) with a break till the end of December.

He said no agreement had yet been reached as there is no consensus on the proposal. “I think such a move would help both the clubs and the national team in their preparations for the European club competitions and the national team’s commitments,” he said.

Buttigieg was, as usual, not in a position to announce his starting line-up yesterday morning. “We still have some training sessions before the match. And it is not fair to announce the line-up to the press before the players themselves know who is starting the match. So I will be announcing the starting formation a few hours before kick off,” he said.

The national coach has the following squad at his disposal:

Goalkeepers: J. Haber (Kerkyra), A. Hogg (Valletta).

Defenders: A. Agius (AS Melfi), R. Briffa and J. Caruana (both Valletta), C. Failla (Sliema W.), E. Herrera (Hibernians), C. Mamo (Marsaxlokk), J. Zerafa (Birkirkara).

Midfielders: T. Cilia and G. Sciberras (both Birkirkara); R. Fenech and J. Pace (both Valletta),

Forwards: A. Cohen (Hibs), M. Mifsud (Valletta), C. Caruana (Floriana), A. Schembri (O. Volos), D. Bogdanovic (Sheffield Utd).