by Malta’s women’s U17 national team hosted the UEFA Women’s U17 European Qualification matches last week, with the side succumbing to three consecutive defeats at the hands of Romania, Ukraine & Moldova. Coach Clint Tabone provided his assessment, while addressing the controversy on selection. Tabone also spoke of the importance of stakeholders uniting to give players a better chance for success in future tournaments.
A Disappointing Tournament For Malta
The Malta Women’s U17 team took to the Centenary Stadium in the UEFA U17 Women’s European Championships against Romania, Ukraine and Moldova with the three matches ending in defeat for the home side.
Malta lost the opening match to Romania by 4 – 1, before being dominated by Ukraine by 10 – 0. In the final match against Moldova, Malta led by 1 – 0 but ultimately succumbed to a 2 – 1 defeat.
Malta’s national team coach, Clint Tabone, gave his overall assessment, “Obviously, we’re disappointed with our defeats and the goals we’ve conceded, especially against Ukraine. Everyone knows we faced strong opponents, but there were still positives to take from the games.”
On the other hand, Tabone, reiterated the impact of physicality as in the pre-tournament interview, “A major issue suffered throughout this tournament has been our opponents’ physicality, or the lack of it in our group. When facing teams of this level, our players need more time to prepare as a cohesive unit, which means more collective training and better physical conditioning before such challenging matches.”
Malta’s team approached matches with varied systems in the three matches, also changing approach within them. Tabone was probed on how much these changes were forced by circumstances in the match, as opposed to them being planned.
Giving a match by match assessment Tabone replied, “In our first match, we aimed to play positive football and build confidence in our players, even trying to adopt a more offensive approach. In fact, we managed to score, but unfortunately, we conceded right after our goal. Our players gave their best, but Romania is a strong team, particularly in terms of their physicality.”
Malta’s coach conceded that plenty went wrong against Ukraine, “The match against Ukraine was one of those matches where a number of factors contribute to a poor showing. On one hand, our opponents were strong both physically and technically, whereas from our part we lacked in all aspects of our game: physical, tactical and above all mental.”
Sticking By The Selection & Future Improvement
Looking forward, Tabone spoke of the collective stakeholders needing to work better together to set up these players for improved showings.
He said, “It is clear that we need more time to work with these young players. It is extremely challenging to come together as a national team and face strong opponents like we did in these qualifiers, with little time to work together. It is always tough for our players to play three games in nine days at this level. This concerns not only the players but also us as their coaches, as well as their clubs, where they spend most of their time. It would be unfair to single out any specific one of these stakeholders who ought to work together for the best possible preparation to give to our young players.”
On the other hand, questioned about whether he sticks by the selection made, Tabone gave an in-depth answer of the process. He said, “The selection is made following constant monitoring by our coaching staff who attend club matches. We started with a broader group of twenty-six players from different clubs who joined us for a training camp in October. Players are chosen on the basis of their performances and abilities.”
Addressing the controversy that spilled onto the online threads, Tabone continued, “Controversy is a normal part of this process. There will always be people who feel aggrieved or who disagree with your decisions. I remain convinced that together with my team we have selected those players we thought were deserving to be part of the team. I rely on the strong support of our technical team in seeking to make the best decisions possible. This does not mean we always get it right.”
However, the Malta coach was sharp against attacks of club bias, “Certainly, decisions are not made on the basis of the club of origin or similar criteria. In the end we had to choose twenty players for the qualifiers, and we’re confident that we selected the best possible squad to represent our country.”
Experience Gained
There will certainly need to be a proper assessment to direct the course of these young players to prepare them better for such tournaments. Notwithstanding this, several were making their debuts, and Tabone is eyeing the long-term path ahead.
He said, “Of course, there are many ways to assess performance in a match and this can also be rather subjective. Let us not forget that these experiences are part of a longer-term process in the development of our players. These matches provide players with the opportunity to be exposed to a higher level of football. The main objective remains to learn from them. With this comes the great sense of constant sacrifice needed from players, total commitment, together with a support system that we need to provide them, together with their clubs.”
He finished by backing the spirit of the selected players, “There are always positives to take away from every tournament you play. I am sure our players learned valuable lessons and gained experience from this week together. I am confident that they will continue to work hard and focus on areas for improvement.”
As Malta’s U17 tournament comes to an end, the U19 Women’s National Team will be heading to Croatia under the tutelage of new coach, David Attard, for the UEFA Women’s U19 European Qualification matches against Croatia, Slovenia and Luxembourg. The first matches will be played on the 27th of November. More details to follow in the coming days.
Lead Image: Malta FA
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