Malta Under-17 coach Silvio Vella has named a 20-strong squad for the week-long tournament, being played in the Italian town of Gradisca d’Isonzo. Several players selected by Vella for this trip were part of the squad that featured in the UEFA Youth U-16 Development Tournament, staged in Malta last February. The Maltese youngsters finished second out of four teams.
On Wednesday, the Malta U-17 team face Croatian team HNK Rijeka before wrapping up their group commitments against the youth side of Serie A club Torino on Thursday.
The Malta U-17s’ participation in the Trofeo Nereo Rocco is part of their build-up for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round commitments between October 26 and November 1. Vella’s team have been drawn in Group 1 along with Belgium, Northern Ireland and Switzerland.
Photos: Copyright © Paul Zammit Cutajar
Goalkeepers: Amara Sylla (Birkirkara); Ryan Vella (Hibernians); Andrea Spiteri (Valletta).
Defenders: Christian Gauci (San Ġwann); Shaun Dimech (Valletta); Jake Ghio (Pietà Hotspurs); Liam McKay (Pietà Hotspurs); Glenn Attard (Birkirkara).
Midfielders: Jamie Sixsmith (St Andrews); Sheldon Pisani (Pietà Hotspurs); Matthew Portelli (Hibernians); Bradley Sciberras (Floriana); Ryan Tonna (Valletta); Ethan Lethridge (Birkirkara); Sebastian Grech (Birkirkara); Karl Mohnani (Melita).
Forwards: Paul Mbong (Birkirkara); Russel Vella (Ħamrun Spartans); Ryan Vella (Hibernians); Alexander Satariano (St Andrews).