Malta Under-21 coach Silvio Vella named the final squad for the UEFA Under-21 qualifier against Belgium, in programme on Friday at the Hibernians Stadium.

From the provisional squad, Vella dropped Yenz Cini, Daniel Zerafa, Siraj Arab Eddin and Kurt Zammit.

The team had an excellent start in this qualifying campaign, collecting five points from the first five matches, all played away from home, holding Moldova in a goalless draw, defeating Latvia 2-1, losing 4-1 to the Czech Republic, holding Montenegro in a goalless draw and losing 2-0 to Belgium. However the first two home matches, played last March were surrounded with controversy due to match-fixing attempts involving members of the Under-21 side. Malta lost 0-1 to Montenegro and 0-7 to the Czech Republic.

Photo: Copyright © Jonathan Bugeja

The players selected by Vella are:
goalkeepers Matthew Calleja Cremona (Pembroke), Jurgen Borg (Gzira);
defenders Samir Arab (Balzan), Cain Attard (Birkirkara), Jean Borg (Valletta), Michael Johnson (St. Andrews), Karl Micallef (Pietà), Daniel Zerafa (Tarxien);
midfielders Myles Beerman (Man City), Johann Bezzina (Hibs), James Brincat and Ryan Camenzuli (Birkirkara), Llywelyn Cremona (Valletta), Jake Grech (Hamrun), Matthew Guillaumier (Birkirkara) and Brandon Muscat (Pembroke);
forwards Jurgen Degabriele and Joseph Mbong (Hibs), Luke Montebello (Pembroke).