Preparations are already underway for the UEFA Under-19 Championship 2023 in Malta, with the qualification matches being played in the autumn of next year and in the first part of 2023. Malta will be hosting the final tournament and therefore gained automatic qualification
The technical team of the Malta FA have planned a series of friendly games for the squad with players born in 2004 and 2005, which was kicked off last month already with two matches against the counterparts of Estonia. The first match was won 3-1, while the second match ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Between Tuesday and Thursday, Malta will host the National Under-18 team of the Republic of Ireland, who touched down in Malta a few days ago and have already held a few training sessions at the Ta’ Qali Training Grounds.
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Malta coach Alessandro Zinnari has chosen the following 22 players for these two Friendly matches:
GK Beppe Mangion (25/5/04) – St Andrews FC
GK Adam Buttigieg (15/9/04) – Sliema Wanderers FC
DEF Jake Grech (6/2/04) – Balzan FC
DEF Andrew Apap-Bologna (3/2/05) – St Andrews FC
DEF Miguel Azzopardi (24/5/04) – Valletta FC
DEF Nathan Cope (29/6/04) – Pieta’ Hotspurs FC
DEF Matteo Gambin (2/5/04) – Birkirkara FC
DEF Nicholas Galea (7/11/04) – St Andrews FC
DEF Ivin Farrugia (2/6/05) – Pieta’ Hotspurs FC
MID Lucas Caruana (24/9/05) – Hibernians FC
MID Andrew Borg (27/5/04) – St Andrews FC
MID Jake Micallef (12/1/04) – San Gwann FC
MID Brooklyn Borg (8/1/04) – Pieta’ Hotspurs FC
MID Jake Vassallo (21/6/04) – Mosta FC
MID Mattias Ellul (3/12/04) – St Andrews FC
MID Luca Gatt (30/8/04) – Pieta’ Hotspurs FC
FWD Zak Barbara (7/2/05) – Valletta FC
FWD Jamie Scerri (2/2/04) – Pieta’ Hotspurs FC
FWD Sebastian Azzopardi (5/2/05) – NY Metropolitan Oval Academy (USA)
FWD Shaisen Attard (29/10/04) – Hamrun Spartans FC
FWD Nathan Cross (1/9/04) – Birkirkara FC
FWD Gabriel Diego Farrugia (24/11/04) – Balzan FC
New faces in the squad are Adam Buttigieg, Nicholas Galea, Mattias Ellul, Gabriel Diego Farrugia and New York based Sebastian Cole Azzopardi, while all other players have previously played official matches for either Malta’s Under-19, U18 or U17 teams.
Fixtures
Tuesday 7 December (11h00) Malta vs Rep.Ireland (Tony Bezzina Stadium)
Thursday 9 December (11h00) Malta vs Rep.Ireland (Tony Bezzina Stadium)
Tickets
Adults – €6
U12, Over 60, Concessions – €4
School children (in uniform) and teachers – free