Malta coach Pietro Ghedin said that his team will be facing an important test against Armenia in the qualifying opening Group B match of the 2014 World Cup Brazil.

According to the website of Malta’s Football Association, the Italian said that Armenia “have made strides forward and obtained 17 points in their last qualification group.”

“They have fast players as was evident in their recent match against Belarus. However, being at home, we will play all the cards. We will take our next two matches step by step. First it’s against Armenia and then we will think about Italy,” he stressed.

“Two positive away results instill courage and confidence for future commitments. But we also have much more work to do. We hope that everyone will do his part against Armenia in what will be a difficult match. I am confident that the team will do well. We have ten players who can perform both in attack and in defense and this versatility should help us go for various game plans, including the 1-4-3-2-1 formation,” the coach said.

Malta’s ace-scorer Michael Mifsud, referring to Armenia, said that the team should not be underestimated. “They are fast and move forward with purpose. It will surely be a difficult game for us, but we are prepared for the match and we will do our best,” he said.