The final countdown to UEFA Euro 2024 has officially begun as we approach a string of highly anticipated international friendlies. Some of the nations that are playing this week are heading for the big tournament and others aren’t, but either way, it’s important for all of them to try and build some momentum. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the impending clash between Malta and Greece.

They are one of the smallest countries in the world by area, they’ve never qualified for a major competition, and they are widely recognised as the whipping boys whenever they are in a qualifying group. That tends to be the mission statement and status quo for Malta and while that may seem sad, the last twelve months have seen them make some genuinely encouraging progress.

Malta’s qualifying campaign didn’t quite go to plan as many had anticipated, as they lost all eight of their games - although, it must be said that it was a pretty tough group. They scored two goals and conceded 20, but somewhere in there, a few decent performances gave fans reason to be optimistic.

Everyone remembers Greece for their famous triumph back at Euro 2004 and now, 20 years later, they’re left on the outside looking in. There are definitely some solid foundations in place in comparison to recent tournaments but if they want to make a sustained push for the World Cup in a few years, they’ll need to start rediscovering their edge both at the back and in the final third.

The Greeks may not have been overly consistent in the qualifiers, but they did finish 3rd behind France and the Netherlands with 13 points to their name. They qualified for the play-offs via the Nations League, but after battering Kazakhstan 5-0 in their semi-final, they were stunned on penalties by Georgia in the final.

In a game like this, the whole point is to do everything in your power to make an impact - but at the same time, there are far more important matches that lie ahead. At the same time, we do expect it to be an entertaining game with plenty of chances, which is why we’re still going to back over 2.5 goals scored.