The last-gasp goal which allowed Belarus to peg back Malta on Sunday in the final VisitMalta Women’s friendly did not remove Manuela Tesse’s smile on her face.
The Italian coach was delighted with the performance of her side against a nation sitting 30 places above Malta in the FIFA rankings.
Despite slipping into League C in the first edition of the UEFA Women’s Nations League, Belarus are one of the much-improved sides across the European landscape of the women’s game.
For Tesse, this was the perfect gauge to measure the improvement of her team ahead of April’s debut in Europe’s second tier.