These matches are part of our build-up ahead of the stiff tests that await our national side when they face countries like Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia and Norway, besides Azerbaijan, during the latter months of this year and throughout 2015.

National team coach Pietro Ghedin has picked a provisional 33-man squad, including some newcomers, with a view to assessing the potential of each unit. His aim is to have a wide a base of players who will be capable of filling in the different roles assigned to them.

Gibraltar, themselves in Group D, are equally primed to start their preparation in the best of ways. Their players are, for all intents and purposes, unknown locally, a fact which makes it incumbent on us to take things seriously when facing the team from the tiny state on the fringe of Spain.

The match, to be played in Portugal on Wednesday, 4^th June, will be a very useful outing for our national side, considering that the players are just about to start a new season which will be extended by the ten group matches until late next year.

Malta's Provisional Squad