Malta National U16 coach Andrea Vella has selected a squad of 20 players who will travel to Italy on Friday and play two friendly matches against La Spezia and Pisa. The games are scheduled to be played on Saturday 25th (kick-off 17:00) at the Centro Sportivo B. Ferdeghini and Monday 27th (kick-off 15:00) at the ASD San Giuliano Sport (Centro Tecnico).
Coach Vella has selected two new faces when compared to the call up for the friendly matches against Lithuania held in February. Mainly he included Jerome Baldacchino of Valletta who missed the recent commitments due to injury and gave the first nod to Pietà Hotspurs’ Shaun Xiberras.
Pietà Hotspurs are the team mostly represented with five players, with Valletta and Floriana following closely with four.
The 20-man squad is made up of the following players:
GOALKEEPERS
James Sissons (Melita), Miguel Camilleri (Birkirkara)
CENTRAL DEFENDERS
Shelom Magri (Birkirkara), Karl Grima (Melita), Nathan Joyce (Floriana), Sheldon Borg (Pietà Hotspurs)
RIGHT WINGBACK
Jake Attard (Floriana), Shaun Xiberras (Pietà Hotspurs)
LEFT WINGBACK
Nathan Grech (Melita), Jayden Vella (Pietà Hotspurs)
MIDFIELDERS
Jerome Baldacchino (Valletta), Thomas Melillo (Pietà Hotspurs), Luke Bugeja (Birkirkara), Dejan Farrugia (Floriana)
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Hijazi Ubada (Sliema Wanderers), Keyon Ewurun (Valletta), Ethan Muscat (Valletta), Nathan Zerafa (Floriana), Denzil Muscat (Pietà Hotspurs), Claude Mercieca (Valletta)