by Portugal are set to welcome Malta at the Municipal Stadium of Leiria this evening at 19:00 CET, to complete their commitments in Group B3. Francisco Neto & Manuela Tesse revisited their debate on the pitches, while assessing their aims for the match. Both Ana Borges & Brenda Borg noted the respect for their adversaries, but underlined their team’s desire to play their game of football.
UPDATE ON BROADCAST 14:45 CET (16.07.2024): The two parties have reached an agreement and the match will be televised in Malta on TVM News+.
Plenty Of Respect But Both Sets Of Players Striving For A Good Performance
Both teams will head into this evening’s fixture knowing that their places in Group B3 are set. However, the two sides appear keen on finishing the job on the best possible terms.
The two teams will be missing at least a key player from the initial call-ups. Portugal’s Francisco Neto confirmed that Francisca Nazareth will miss the match through injury, while Haley Bugeja also misses out for Malta after picking up an injury in Friday’s encounter against Northern Ireland.
Portugal head into the match having dropped their first points in the group on Friday, following a goalless stalemate against Bosnia & Herzegovina away from home. Captain Ana Borges underlined the team’s desire to make amends, “We want to impose our game. We couldn’t be at our usual level against Bosnia and this gives us the motivation as players to perform better in this match at home.”
Shifting sight on their adversary, Malta, Portugal’s captain continued, “We do not underestimate Malta, because Malta’s team has its own qualities. If we take any opponent for granted and assume the result will come based on theoretical ranking, then we will have a bad surprise. We are a team that always respects adversaries.”
Meanwhile, Malta head into the match against the leaders and most formidable opponent in the group following a 2-0 defeat to Northern Ireland on home soil on Friday. Probed about the mentality of the team in approaching the match, Brenda Borg showed respect to the class of Portugal, but maintained that the Maltese are taking to the pitch with a positive mentality.
She said, “Given that we’re already relegated, this match allows us to play with freedom, free from the pressure of results. While Portugal is our toughest opponent in the group, it’s another chance to measure ourselves against one of the best, providing invaluable experience for the team’s development. Our aim remains the same as any other game: to defend as a unit, play creatively, and ultimately, strive for victory.”
The Pitch
There were plenty of digs when the reverse fixture was played in Malta, surrounding the game being played on synthetic turf, as well as its confinement. The two coaches gave their insight on how they expect that playing on grass at the Municipal Stadium of Leiria could change the type of game that spectators will be watching.
Portugal’s Francisco Neto smiled, “Even though we won by 2-0, the synthetic pitch created some problems for us in Malta, but its not an excuse. Today, we are going to play in a pitch of high quality and so if we could not have excuses on synthetic, certainly today we have no excuses. The pitch is large and this allows us to play our game better because we like to stretch the game in width and in length.”
Portugal’s Neto finished by saying, “It could be a point in favour of Portugal, but it is only a benefit if we play well and make good decisions on the pitch. Nothing will be good if we don’t perform at our best.”
Malta’s Manuela Tesse rejected any difference in size, but noted that it has a mental effect which the team is guarded against, “I think it affects only mentally but our players are ready.” Pushed on the effect of playing on grass, Malta’s coach conceded, “Playing on grass, Portugal are more confident than they were in Malta. However, we approach the match with a positive mentality and we want to play our football.”
Looking at the complete picture, Tesse remarked, “We are relegated, so certainly we have missed some things of course, and we knew this was a tough group when we got the draw. However, I think we have shown that we are able to play good football in this campaign. I spoke with the players and they want to play positive football. This means that they are confident about their growth during this tournament.”
The match will be played at the Municipal Stadium of Leiria, with kick-off scheduled at 19:00 CET. No new information has surfaced on whether the disagreements on the terms of broadcasting have been resolved, since yesterday’s report. At the time of writing, The Sporting Fan understands that the match will not be televised in Malta.
The other two teams in the group, Northern Ireland and Bosnia & Herzegovina, will be playing a direct encounter to determine second place in the group, at Windsor Park at the same time. The match may be watched on BBC iPlayer.
Lead Images: Brandon Bonett / Dorienne Grech
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