Malta head coach Emilio De Leo has called for greater courage and determination in the final third as the national team prepares to face Andorra at the National Stadium on Sunday in the final match of the current international window.
Malta go into the encounter top of the group with four points, ahead of Gibraltar on two and Andorra on one, but De Leo will be looking for an improved performance following Thursday’s disappointing draw against Gibraltar.
Speaking to the media on Saturday alongside goalkeeper Henry Bonello, De Leo said it was still too early to determine which players would be available after Friday’s training session was largely devoted to recovery.
“We had a recovery session with around half of the team, so at this moment I cannot really say who will be available or not. We will see tonight, together with my staff, and then we will have a clearer picture.”
De Leo admitted that the result against Gibraltar was frustrating but said the coaching staff had already analysed the performance and identified where Malta need to improve.
“It was a disappointing draw. We have already seen what we can change and the mistakes we made. We had a good performance, but we did not express ourselves well enough. We were too cynical and not concrete enough.”
The Malta coach believes his players need to show more conviction in attacking areas and make better use of the opportunities they create.
“We need to see the spaces, take risks, win the 1v1 situations and make the final pass. We need to fill the area and have the right determination. We created opportunities, but we were not good enough at converting them.”
Asked whether Gibraltar’s performance had surprised him, De Leo insisted Malta had been prepared for the challenge but needed to impose themselves more strongly.
“They did not surprise us. Every team tries to give you a good game. We need to be stronger when we recover the ball, strong in every sense, put our qualities onto the pitch and dominate the game rather than simply hoping that everything goes well.”
De Leo also dismissed suggestions that he regretted any of his decisions during Thursday’s match, although he acknowledged that he had reflected on the performance.
“I don’t like to judge decisions afterwards. There is a difference between taking decisions during the game and looking at them now. Obviously, I have reflected and I am self-critical; I do this all the time. For sure, we had to be more incisive.”
Bonello, meanwhile, reflected on Gibraltar’s goal, which took a deflection that left the Malta goalkeeper with little chance.
“The ball was deflected. If there was no deflection, it would have gone out, but with the deflection, whatever I did, it went the other way.”
The Malta goalkeeper felt the result could have been very different had the national team converted the opportunities it created.
“We are speaking now because we saw that they had two shots on target and one of them was a goal. Had we scored all the chances we missed, we would be here speaking about a completely different game.”
De Leo said Malta must use the disappointment as another stage in the team’s development.
“We analysed our mistakes and it was an own goal that we did not deserve. But these are moments that help us grow. We have to learn from them.”
Bonello acknowledged the frustration within the squad at failing to take all three points but stressed that Malta cannot afford to underestimate Andorra.
“One thing that really affects the team is the frustration of not having won. Hand on heart, we know that we are the better team and that we have won the direct encounters most of the time. But we have to keep our feet on the ground. Every game has its own story and we have to do everything possible to win it.”
With Malta leading the group but Gibraltar and Andorra still in contention, Sunday’s encounter represents another important test for De Leo’s side as they seek to consolidate top spot and end the international window on a positive note.
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