Preview: Spain looking to improve their shooting for Malta tie

MADRID, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Spain coach Luis Enrique will be hoping his strikers can adjust their sights when they play the second of their qualifying matches for the 2020 European Championship away to Malta on Tuesday.

Although the Spanish got their qualifying campaign off to a winning start with a 2-1 win at home to Norway on Saturday night, the coach won't have been pleased to see a hatful of chances go begging to mean it needed a Sergio Ramos penalty to seal a narrow win which should have been by a much bigger margin.

On paper, the Spanish should have few problems in beating Malta and the game looks as if it should offer the chance for Spain to get some shooting practice, but it remains to be seen whether the coach repeats his side or opts to refresh his starting eleven.

He is likely to make some changes with perhaps Mario Hermoso given a chance in defense, while Sergio Canales' creativity could be useful in midfield and Getafe forward Jaime Mata, who is currently the top scoring Spaniard in the Liga Santander, deserves a chance to show if he can hit the net at an international level.

Even though the Spanish won against Norway, it is obvious that Enrique's side needs to improve in its finishing as stats show that only one in 12 shots from Spain forwards end up in the rival net, while rivals only need four attempts on the Spanish goal to score.

Malta has a special place in Spanish football history thanks to a mythical 12-1 win against the Maltese in December 1983 which qualified the Spanish for the 1984 European Championship finals.

The current Malta coach Raymond Farrugia played in that game and was substituted when the score was 9-1 and has said the game was the worst moment in his career.