MALTA’S EURO QUALIFIER AGAINST BULGARIA

After their very fairly good home showing against Italy when Malta suffered a minimal 1-0 defeat last month, the senior national team will be in for another gruelling outing in a Euro 2016 group H qualifier, this time away against Bulgaria.  National coach, Pietro Ghedin, will again be focused on getting the best out of our boys in a match which is definitely regarded as a difficult one against opponents who aspire for qualification for the finals in France despite their fourth place behind joint leaders Croatia and Italy, with Norway lying third. The Bulgarians have managed only one win and suffered two defeats. Lying bottom alongside Azerbaijan without any points, Malta are trying to collect some crumbs of comfort, if anything, with a prestige-enhancing performance, their second in succession. Records of the previous 11 encounters between Malta and Bulgaria reveal a grim picture of two draws, one of which in a World Cup qualifier in 2005, and nine defeats for the Maltese. Ghedin will, no doubt, go for caution without, however, discarding any enterprising play. The Italian mentor has gradually moulded a fighting nucleus of units which, one hopes, will find some expression in the unfamiliarly cold conditions of Bulgaria at this time of the year. The Malta squad for the Bulgaria match Name Club Position    Justin Haber Birkirkara FCGKAndrew Hogg Kalloni LekanopedioGKNicholas Vella Valletta FCGK   Andrei Agius Hibernians FC DFSteve Bezzina Balzan DFOwen Bugeja Tarxien R.DFJonathan Caruana Valletta FCDFRyan Camilleri Valletta FCDFClayton Failla Hibernians FC DFJustin Grioli Balzan FC DFZach Muscat Birkirkara FCDF      Clyde Borg Floriana FCMF Roderick Briffa Valletta FCMFAndrew Cohen Hibernians FCMFBrooke Farrugia Floriana FCMFPaul Fenech Birkirkara FCMFRyan Fenech Valletta FCMFBjorn KristensenHibernians FCMFRowen Muscat DunaújvárosMF Mark Scerri Sliema FCMF Andre' Schembri FSV FrankfurtMF   Jean Paul Farrugia Spartak TrnavaFWTerence Vella Naxxar Lions FCFW