Noel Turner, the Malta Under-16 coach, has named a squad of 20 players for this tournament. While the majority of the players in Turner’s selection are registered with Maltese clubs, two are based overseas – goalkeeper Miguel Spiteri is on the books of Spanish club Leganes and Jake Engerer is with Italian club Cesena Calcio.
In their opening match on Saturday, Malta take on Andorra at 11:00. On Monday, they meet Gibraltar at 14:30 before wrapping up their commitments on Wednesday with a match against Liechtenstein at 14:30.
As its title implies, the emphasis of this tournament is on the footballing development of the participating youngsters rather than results.
MALTA UNDER-16 SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Miguel Spiteri (Deportivo Leganes, Spain); Matthias Debono (Ħamrun Spartans).
Defenders: Sheldon Mizzi (Pietà Hotspurs); Matthew Ellul (Hibernians); Kurt Galea (Pietà Hotspurs); Isaac Galea (Floriana); Ismael Borg (Mosta); Luke Musu (San Ġwann); Gianluca Borg (Pietà Hotspurs).
Midfielders: Karl Mohnani (Melita); Emerson Camillieri (Pietà Hotspurs); Gianluca Sciberras (Mosta); Jordan Kelly (St Andrews); Leo Agius (Floriana); Glen Mifsud (Hibernians).
Forwards: Jake Bone (Pietà Hotspurs); Jake Engerer (Cesena); Kurt Buhagiar (Valletta); Kurt Desira (Valletta); Mattia Veselji (St Andrews).