The closure of one final international window for the Malta Under21 Team in 2021 facing Northern Ireland at the Mourneview Park in Belfast on Tuesday.
Coach Gilbert Agius has been firmly adamant once again in his stand also part of the philosophy our National Teams coaches are spearheading forward, to work on better performances thereafter a good result will follow.
“Against Spain on Friday and albeit the 5-0 defeat there were some notable points with positive play in off the ball situation, compact and defensively organized, also the physical condition of my players was noted running tirelessly and playing their hearts out against a Spain side who was firing on all cylinders in terms of high tempo, pressing up the pitch and intensity of the match”.
Agius affirmed, “My players are recovering well ahead of the game on Tuesday, there is always a fatigue situation for us with travelling for matches abroad, but the spirits are high as we try to regroup as a unit, take all the positives and bounce back strongly from the game against Spain on Friday”.
Coach Gilbert Agius also outlined the fact that our opponents on Tuesday will be fully determined to make amends following their 4-1 hammering in Malta only two months ago in group opener.
“It will surely be a physical match, they play direct football and strength is one of their biggest attributes, we know it will be a tough match possibly in awful weather conditions, we are also mindful they (Northern Ireland) will be vying to build on their brilliant performance in their last outing only three days ago, impressively pulling out a comprehensive 4-0 win over Lithuania.
“Northern Ireland barring they were put under the sword by Malta back in September at the Centenary Stadium, only lost against the two powerhouses of this group that is Russia and Spain, whereas they have been solid also winning in their matches over Slovakia and Lithuania, therefore we have to be at the top of our game, show mettle, avoid stupid mistakes, more aggressive in our attacking play, also capitalize in our dead ball situations.
“All this could lead us to what we’re aiming for that is adding to our points tally in this group, on top of that make the journey back home with a strong performance in the bag after the 90 minutes here in Belfast”, U21 Team coach Gilbert Agius concluded.
Northern Ireland against Malta in a UEFA European U21 Championship Group C match at the Mourneview Park, match kicks off at 20:30 UK time.
