Malta Under-21 coach Silvio Vella has named a squad of 21 players for the upcoming UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifying matches against Northern Ireland and Ukraine.

The Malta Under-21 team open their Group 8 commitments with two away matches, the first against Northern Ireland on September 6 at The Showgrounds, Ballymena, and the second against Ukraine in Metallurh, Zaporizhia on September 10. The other teams in Group 8 are Denmark, Romania and Finland.

Vella has kept faith with most of the players who were part of the squad for the friendly against Bosnia & Herzegovina. The match, played at the National Stadium on June 5, ended goalless. The 21-strong squad features players who have a lot of experience at Under-21 level as well as up-and-coming talents.

St Andrews goalkeeper Duncan Formosa, 19, and 20-year-old Mosta defender Kyle Gatt have been included in the Malta U-21 squad for the first time.

The Malta Under-21 contingent is due to travel to Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

MALTA UNDER-21 SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS
Timothy Aquilina (Gudja United); Andreas Vella (Mosta); Duncan Formosa (St Andrews).

DEFENDERS
Jean Borg (Valletta); Kurt Shaw (Sliema Wanderers); Kyle Gatt (Mosta); Michele Sansone (Sliema Wanderers); Nicholas Pulis (Valletta); Zachary Karl Grech (Balzan); Gary Camilleri (Balzan).

MIDFIELDERS
Myles Beerman (Hibernians); Marcus Grima (Balzan); Jamie Zerafa (Santa Lucia); David Xuereb (Senglea Athletic); Jan Tanti (Senglea Athletic); Zachary Cassar (Gudja United); Ayrton Attard (Hibernians).

FORWARDS
Jan Busuttil (Floriana); Zachary Brincat (Mosta); Omar Elouni (Santa Lucia); Aidan Jake Friggieri (Gudja United).