‘Kuwait has recently changed coach and thus it was futile to study previous games,’ said National Teams Head Coach Devis Mangia whilst addressing the media during the MD-1 press conference. He reiterated that, ‘we watched the last game against Latvia and noticed that they are very strong and aggressive. We need to play a clean game from a technical point of view.’
Devis Mangia corroborated that he was very satisfied with the performance of his team against Azerbaijan. If he had to pinpoint one negative thing was the number of missed goal scoring opportunities. He explained that there might be a change in the starting line up.
The plan was to give playing time to James Brown, however the decision will be taken after discussions with the medical staff. If the player is not 100% in shape, Devis Mangia explained that he will not risk playing him out of respect for the player and his club. Jake Galea will also not be available and he has already joined his club. He was replaced by Matthew Grech. In the meantime, it was decided that Paul Mbong should join the U21 national team and is now available for Gilbert Agius’ side as tomorrow they face Lithuania.
Goal-scorer Jurgen Degabriele was alongside Devis Mangia during this press conference. He emphasized that the team has to focus on the positive performances of the past and bank on them to produce a further better performance this time round. He explained that the team is adamant not to miss so many chances and close the game as early as possible.
Malta play against Kuwait tonight, Tuesday 29th March 2022 at 7pm at the National Stadium, Ta’ Qali.
Photos: Domenic Aquilina
