National coach John Buttigieg is expecting his side to do its best to secure a positive result in today’s last qualifier against Israel (kick-off 7pm) at Ta’ Qali in this Euro 2012 campaign.

He said yesterday that despite the fact that the two teams had no further interest in the standings – they have absolutely no chance of qualifying – the match remains important. “I firmly believe that no team wants to play and lose a match. We also want to win although it is always difficult for us against any team,” he said.

Addressing the press yesterday, Buttigieg said that Mifsud and Caruana had both started training with the squad since Sunday and therefore both could be expected to be included in the starting line-up. Both had missed the Latvia match as they failed to recover in time from their injuries.

As is customary, the national coach would not name his starting line-up. “We still have to see the condition of Mifsud and Caruana – we have to wait till tomorrow (today). But one good note is that all the players available for the Latvia match are in good condition. We do not have any injured players, even if Cohen and Failla will be missing through suspension. There might also be some other changes from the side that faced Latvia, but we have to wait before making our final decision,” he added.

With the two suspended players being replaced by the returning Mifsud and Caruana in the squad, the national coach has also recalled Floriana’s Christian Caruana and Sliema’s Alex Muscat. However, he has to reduce the squad by two players today.

Buttigieg went on to say that he was sure his players will be going all out to get a positive result this evening. “I was disappointed with the result and the first half performance against Latvia. I am insisting with my players that we cannot afford to lose the ball so quickly against stronger opponents, as was the case in Riga last Friday. We must play the possession game, but it must work in our favour,” he insisted.

Buttigieg also answered questions on the overall performances of the team in this Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. He said: “It was a difficult group, but I think we were unlucky on some occasions, especially when we lost two matches in the final seconds. We had our ups and downs – there were some good performances, others were not satisfactory. But on the whole I must commend my players who have worked hard, showing great commitment during the training sessions.”

Asked whether it is a jinx that has hit Malta’s national team that it cannot achieve a competitive victory, Buttigieg promptly replied that he did not believe it was. “We just have to continue working and doing our best in the hope that things will change to the better in future. It is true that everybody, including myself, consider the result more important than the performance. But we must always look forward to win through a good performance, if that is possible,” he said.

The squad

Goalkeepers: Justin Haber (Kerkyra), Andrew Hogg (Valletta).

Defenders: Roderick Briffa (Valletta), Jonathan Caruana (Valletta), Edward Herrera (Hibs), Carlo Mamo (Marsaxlokk), Andrei Agius (Latina Calcio), Steve Borg (Valletta), Joseph Zerafa (Birkirkara), Alex Muscat (Sliema W.).

Midfielders: Paul Fenech (Birkirkara), John Hutchinson (Chengdu Blades), Jamie Pace (Valletta), Ryan Fenech (Valletta), Gareth Sciberras (Birkirkara), Trevor Cilia (Birkirkara).

Strikers: Michael Mifsud (Valletta), Ivan Woods (Floriana), Andre Schembri (Panionios), Christian Caruana (Floriana).