Briffa targets positive UNL finale for Malta – Interview

A member of the ‘old guard’, Roderick Briffa has overcome a serious injury to rediscover his best form at club level as well as earning a recall to the national squad after a long absence. The Gżira United midfielder, who is only one match away from reaching 100 appearances for Malta, is approaching the Kosovo and Faroe Islands games with renewed optimism. It says everything about Roderick Briffa’s talent and perseverance that the veteran midfielder is on the verge of reaching a century of appearances for Malta despite a lengthy lay-off following cruciate surgery in 2016. Briffa, 37, has high hopes of collecting his 100th cap during this international week after the in-form Gżira United midfielder was again named in Malta’s squad for the final UEFA Nations League Group D3 matches at home to Kosovo and Faroe Islands. First things first though and Briffa’s immediate thoughts are on these two games and his resolve to do his part to help Malta gain positive results. “If you look at our away match against Kosovo, they were the better side but our performance was good,” Briffa said. “We managed to equalise early in the second half but it became an uphill struggle after we were reduced to ten men. “Kosovo went on to score two more goals to further underline their potential. “They are a very good team, the strongest in this group in my opinion, but I also believe that we can aim for a better performance at home. “After Kosovo, we face the Faroe Islands. It will be another tough game but our expectations will be higher for the match against Faroe Islands. “We know their strengths and weaknesses. We can take heart from our performance in the away game against Faroe Islands where we should have obtained a better result but paid the price for our mistakes.” Read the full interview with Roderick Briffa in the match programme for Malta's UEFA Nations League games against Kosovo and Faroe Islands