After the match against Malta and a convincing 4:1 win, head coach Sergej Barbarez was pleased with what his players showed: "We’re happy we won and scored a few goals. In this match, we wanted to try out some players, give others a chance in different positions, and offer some of them a bit of security… After conceding in the second half, we looked a bit shaky, maybe it was a matter of fatigue. The substitutions helped balance things out. With the penalty, maybe we could’ve handled it ‘a bit smarter’ in football terms, but we can’t hold that against these young guys. Some of them hadn’t played for the national team in years, they’re playing together for the first time, there are new styles for them… These are things that even against weaker teams often don’t ‘click’. Malta’s a team that wants to play, especially at home."