National Teams

Michele Marcolini: 'Malta will not park the bus and we will try to play our game'

Published: 25-03-2023 18:25
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‘Luckily our players do not have any physical problems and the boys are trying to recover in the best way possible,’ said National Teams Head Coach Michele Marcolini during the MD-1 Press Conference ahead of the next National Team commitment.

On Sunday the Malta National Team faces Italy in its second EURO 2024 qualifying match at the National Stadium, Ta' Qali (kick-off 20:45).

‘We used a lot of energy in North Macedonia however thankfully there are no particular problems,’ said Mister Marcolini.

He confirmed that he will only do slight changes if needed.  ‘I have not been here for long, but I am also grateful that the domestic league stops for 2 weeks,’ explained Marcolini. ‘I had the possibility to work a bit more with the players but still a week is not a lot.’

Italy are still the European Champions, and this game will be challenging for Malta, according to Mister Marcolini, despite the Italian National Team appearing to not be having the greatest of times and having just lost to England. 

'Italy is still a mountain to climb but we will do our best,' explained Marcolini.  'It is necessary for the Italian team to win, and this is another reason why we should worry.'

'I do not wish to park the bus in tomorrow's game however at times this is necessary.  We will not stop and try to play our own game,' concluded Marcolini.

Matthew Guillaumier also addressed the media and explained that ‘we know that it will be a difficult match against strong opponents.’

‘We know that we have to fight for every ball.  We need to have the same attitude shown in North Macedonia and to do our best to make it difficult for our opponents,’ concluded Guillaumier.