by Malta and Croatia will be battling each other in the first of two friendlies, with kick-off due at 19:00 at the Centenary Stadium this evening. Manuela Tesse and Nenad Gracan weighed the team’s long-term trajectory against the short-term results from preparatory friendlies.
Weighing Trajectory Against Opposition
Malta will be hosting Croatia at the Centenary Stadium this evening at 19:00, in the first of two friendlies which will conclude preparations ahead of next year’s UEFA Women’s European Qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Broadcast on TVM Sports+ appears to have been scrapped, with the match only live-streamed on Malta’s FA Youtube Channel.
Malta head into it following back-to-back defeats against a much improved Belarus, with the hosts yet to net a goal since beating Cyprus last June to clinch promotion to League B.
Malta’s coach Manuela Tesse is looking forward to test her side against a team with a different tactical approach, one that is less physically aggressive, but technical in its football, “It is a team that faced Montenegro recently in their friendlies and showed a good level similar to us, but of course it is always the pitch that confirms. I think this is a good team for us to face because maybe they are less physically aggressive in their football philosophy, but we know that they have recovered a few key players in their team since facing Montenegro, so they will be stronger against us.”
On the flip side, Croatia faces the prospect of League C following relegation in the last UEFA Women’s Nations League, but heads into these friendlies on the back of a positive set of matches against Montenegro.
Similarly, Croatia’s Nenad Gracan was questioned on the prospect of facing Malta in the face of his team’s own targets, “We wanted to play Montenegro and Malta because they are two teams who played in League C and topped their groups. So, given our position that we will now be in League C, we wanted to test ourselves against these levels of opposition to understand where we stand in League C.”
Targets: Confidence & Squad Depth
Both teams will be utilising friendlies to make their own judgements of player condition as well as tactical opportunities. Manuela Tesse admitted Haley Bugeja will be missed in attack, with the forward another to be sidelined by injury, “Of course we will miss Haley, and I am sorry for her injury, both at club and country level. She is certainly one of our best players.”
At the same time, the Malta coach is looking for a reaction from the team despite this, “However, as Malta, we cannot depend on one player either. So, I hope that this instils a reaction in the team to come together and show what they can do.”
On the other hand, Croatia’s Nenad Gracan was clear that changes are afoot in his team as well with a target to utilise their League C matches as a foundation for revitalising the squad, “We purposefully made some changes in the squad because we see these friendlies together with the League C matches as an opportunity to give a chance and test our younger players. Matches in League B are all very difficult, so it is very tough to give young players a chance. So, given that we have been relegated, this is now an opportunity to give them a chance to gain experience and widen the base of our roster of players.”
In fact, questioned about the type of match expected, given that Malta are on the back of defeats, while his team are coming into it on the back of victory, Nenad Gracan still prioritised growth, “Our first priority is to try new players and some new approaches that we are practicing in our training. Second is to make sure we avoid injuries. However, we are also playing football and we always play to win.”
Although Malta is on the way up in the Leagues, the side is looking for a lift in front of goal and a first win to boost confidence ahead of the qualifiers. Manuela Tesse spoke in no uncertain terms about the team’s desire for a positive result, “We certainly need to try to win to give us confidence for League B, but also haven’t scored since May and need to win because we also lost both matches against Belarus. So, I am looking for the team to pull together and get a win.”
The two teams are braced for a testing evening at the Centenary Stadium, with kick-off set at 19:00. Malta’s U19 Women’s National Team is also in action at 14:30 at the same stadium, against Israel in the UEFA Women’s U19 Euro Qualifications. It will also be live-streamed on Malta’s FA Youtube Channel.
Lead Image:Â Brandon Bonett / Croatia FA
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