Malta hold first training session in Ljubljana

Malta held their first training session in Ljubljana on Thursday evening ahead of their 2018 World Cup Group F qualifier against Slovenia on Saturday. Having checked in at their hotel in the Slovenian city on Wednesday evening, the players took part in a light session on Thursday afternoon at the Zak Stadium. Coach Pietro Ghedin and his backroom staff are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that the players recover well from their exertions in the 1-0 friendly win over Ukraine at the Merkur Arena in Graz. All the players trained normally as no fresh injuries were reported after Tuesday’s warm-up. The Malta squad will have their official training session on Friday morning, starting at 10.00, at the Stozice Stadium, the venue of Saturday’s qualifier against Slovenia. With five games played, Slovenia are third in Group F on eight points, five behind leaders England and one adrift of Slovakia. Malta are still looking for their first point. In the home match against Slovenia in November, Malta suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat with Benjamin Verbic grabbing the winner early in the second half. Saturday’s game kicks off at 18.00. In the other Group F games, Scotland host neighbours England and Lithuania meet Slovakia. GAMBIN VIEWS Meanwhile, Malta winger Luke Gambin, a second-half substitute on Tuesday, is hopeful that the national team will take something from Saturday’s game.  “We want to get off the mark in the group by getting some points on the board. It’s going to be another great experience for me. It’s a huge game,” Gambon told lutontown.co.uk.“We’ve played them once already in this group so we know their qualities as well and where they can be dangerous. "We’ve got to minimise them, play our way and if we can, catch them on the break and get a goal. That’d be brilliant.”