Noel Turner names squad for Macedonia friendlies

National Team Youth Football
by Antoine Busuttil

The Malta Under-17 team are playing two friendly matches against their Macedonian counterparts on Thursday and Saturday at the Malta FA Training Grounds. Both games start at 18.00

Malta Under-17 coach Noel Turner, together with his assistant Mark Marlow, have been preparing their squad ahead of these two warm-up games which precede the team’s participation in the annual Trofeo Nereo Rocco Tournament, being played in Italy next week.

Turner has called a squad of 22 players for the friendlies against Macedonia who, on Tuesday, featured in a goalless draw against the Malta U-19 team at the Centenary Stadium.

Pietà Hotspurs are the most represented team in the Malta U-17 squad selected by Turner with six shortlisted players – defenders Gianluca Borg and Sheldon Mizzi, midfielders Kurt Briffa and Emerson Camilleri, together with forwards Jake Bone and newcomer Victor Degiorgio.

The friendly matches against the Macedonia U-17 team as well as the participation in the Trofeo Nereo Rocco tournament are part of the Malta Under-17s’ preparations for their commitments in the 2018/19 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round in the final week of October. Austria, Slovenia and Bulgaria are Malta’s opponents in Group 3.

In the Trofeo Nereo Rocco tournament, the Maltese youngsters will play against Red Star Belgrade, Bologna and Juventus in the group phase.

MALTA U-17 SQUAD
Goalkeepers Mattias Debono (Ħamrun Spartans); Dylan Ciappara (Mosta); Miguel Spiteri (Deportivo Leganes, Spain).

Defenders Gianluca Borg (Pietà Hotspurs); Ismael Borg (Mosta); Matthew Ellul (Hibernians); Isaac Galea (Floriana); Sheldon Mizzi (Pietà Hotspurs); Daniel Luke Musu (San Ġwann); Owen Spiteri (San Ġwann); Sean Schembri (Mosta).

Midfielders Leo Agius (Floriana); Kurt Briffa (Pietà Hotspurs); Emerson Camilleri (Pietà Hotspurs); Jordan Kelly (St Andrews); Glen Mifsud (Hibernians); Karl Mohnani (Melita); Nikolai Farrugia Cross (Birkirkara); Gianluca Sciberras (Mosta).

Forwards Jake Bone (Pietà Hotspurs); Victor Degiorgio (Pietà Hotspurs FC); Mattia Veselji (St Andrews).