National coach John Buttigieg said after Friday evening’s match that he was not pleased with the team’s performance in the opening 25 minutes.

He said: “During that period, the team was inexistent. We knew beforehand that it would be difficult as Croatia are considered to be a much stronger side. But my players feared their opponents and gave them too much space.

“We lost the ball too easily and frequently. But once the team settled down, then they started playing much better. We even created some chances before scoring our goal.”

The national coach went on to say that the team grew in confidence after those opening 25 minutes and in the second half, they performed much better. He added: “In fact, I cannot say that they did not play well from the 25th minute onwards. Of course, we still committed mistakes which could have been avoided. In fact I am concerned because this was not the first time that my players committed such errors, some of which are taken full advantage of by our opponents.”

He said Jonathan Caruana’s absence due to a virus infection was not an excuse. “I cannot say that his absence was not felt, but there are other players in my squad who are capable of replacing him. Of course, we cannot miss any player, especially in such tough matches. I hope he will be fit for Tuesday’s game against Georgia.

“Against Georgia on Tuesday, it will again be a difficult match. Every game is difficult for us. They have been going through a good patch and although beaten by Latvia on Friday they even beat Croatia at home. But I am sure my boys will be able to rise to the occasion. This match could possibly produce one or more points for us.”

Asked about Daniel Bogdanovic being dropped from the squad, Buttigieg said the player was still in his plans as every other player. “During the past few days, he had an important commitment which led to his signature for English Championship side Blackpool. He missed a good number of training sessions and I could not select him for this match. However, I expect him to be back training with the squad tomorrow and he will certainly be considered for selection,” said the coach.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic paid tribute to both teams for what he described as an exciting game which produced four goals and several other scoring chances on both sides.

He said Malta made it tough for Croatia although he thought their victory was totally deserved. “After taking a 2-0 lead, I thought it was going to be easy for us, but Malta showed they were well prepared by a good coach and fought their way back into the game.

“In the second half we again had a good start and after missing some chances, we scored that third goal which, in my opinion, closed the match.”

Bilic, who said he was impressed by Malta striker Michael Mifsud, also explained why he had left Modric on the bench. “To leave such a player out of the team, there must be a good reason,” he said. “During the week he was sick. He had a virus and was not 100 per cent fit. I did not want to take risks. We had to beat Malta to keep the pressure on Group leaders Greece. Now we also have to beat Israel next Tuesday,” he added.