The Malta women’s national team will be aiming to add to their points tally in Group B when they face Georgia in their penultimate Group B encounter at the Mikheil Meshki Stadioni, on Thursday (kick-off: 12pm, Malta time).
Malta have collected four points in the group so far, their highest total in a European Championship qualifying round so far. Three points were obtained against Georgia in the first round, the first ever win registered by the Maltese girls in this competition.
Georgia are bottom of the standings and still looking for their first points of the campaign. Malta coach Mark Gatt is not underestimating Georgia, who will be going all out to break their duck in the group, but he is upbeat about his team’s chances of producing a solid performance in Tbilisi.
“Georgia and Israel are two teams that are at par-level with us,” Gatt told www.mfa.com.mt. “Unfortunately, we were not able to prepare for these games in the best way possible due to the circumstances we are living but the target remains the same – to be confident and strive to perform well to gain points from this game.”
The postponement of matches involving the teams of our foreign-based players, especially Italy and England, due to COVID-19 have not helped matters but this has not dimmed Gatt’s optimism about Malta’s chances of getting a positive result.
“Obviously, our aim is to win these games because winning boosts confidence,” Gatt explained.
“At the same time, a positive outcome from these games would further help the women’s game to gain more attention and grow faster.
“We’ve seen this with the men’s national team who had a successful UEFA Nations League campaign, uniting the country and generating a new wave of enthusiasm.”
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Gatt has awarded a first senior call-up to Raiders Għargħur midfielder Maya Lucia. She has been part of the national team set-up at youth level, including in the 2019 UEFA U-17 Women’s European Championships qualifications where she faced teams like France and Iceland.
For Lucia, the national team call-up was a dream come true as she described her emotions at representing her country on the biggest stage.
“Until a few months ago, I was cheering our team from the stands,” Lucia said. “Now, I am part of this group and it feels somewhat surreal. I am truly honoured and will do my best to make myself and my family proud.”
Lucia is grateful to her team-mates for giving her a warm welcome and helping her throughout her first training sessions.
“It is a massive football experience for me because I am playing with the best Maltese players,” the midfielder explained. “I am trying to absorb as much as possible in every session, even if that means asking the players a lot of questions as I want to make sure that I learn and make the most of this experience.”
Photos: Stephen Gatt
