Malta take on Group H leaders Russia at Otkritie Bank Arena in Moscow tonight, their third game in a week.
Coach Devis Mangia said his players have improved but fitness will be an important factor in picking the team for tonight.
Russia are not taking Malta lightly.
Their national coach Valery Karpin said the match against Malta will be no easy game.
“Football has changed. Small teams have pulled up, we can see this in the qualifying matches. Malta in the last game lost 0-1 to Slovenia, conceding a goal after a dubious penalty. The way they play football, they come out of defense with control of the ball … The size of the country is absolutely not felt on the field of play. A series of seven unbeaten matches speaks volumes.”
Russia currently lead the way in Group H. They kicked-off their commitments with a 3-1 win over Malta at Ta’ Qali, followed by a 2-1 win over Slovenia. However in their third game, they lost 2-1 to Slovakia in Trnava. Following two friendly matches against Poland (1-1) and Bulgaria (1-0) and their EURO 2020 commitments which saw Russia lose 0-3 to Belgium, beat Finland 1-0 and lose 1-4 to Denmark, Russia drew 0-0 wtih Croatia at home, defeating Cyprus 2-0 in Nicosia last Saturday.
This will only be the third clash between Malta and Russia and the first on Russian soil. Russia had defeated Malta 2-0 in the Malta International Tournament in 1996 before the clash in March which was the first competitive match between the two countries.
The match will be controlled by Turkish officials, referee Ali Palabıyık, assistant referees Ceyhun Sesigüzel and Serkan Olguncan, fourth official Yasar Kemal Ugurlu, Video Assistant Referee Abdulkadir Bitigen and Assistant Video Assistant Referee Mete Kalkavan
Photo: Coach Devis Mangia
