LIECHTENSTEIN 0
MALTA 2
(HT 0-1)
The latest UEFA Boys U16 Youth Development Football Tournament staged in Malta between the 24th and the 28th of February at the Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali brought together the young talents of host nation Malta together with those of Andorra, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein.
Under the shrewd guidance of head coach Noel Turner, the young Malta boys managed to clock three wins from as many matches, beating Andorra in their first commitment on penalty-kicks, then thrashed Gibraltar to the tune of 6-0 before rounding up their commitments with a sound and encouraging 2-0 win over Liechtenstein to top this international "friendly tournament" widely promoted by UEFA, where young footballers are given the chance to showcase their talents and make progress as players through UEFA's international development tournament.
Malta's Jake Engerer, who is on the books of Cesena Calcio in Italy, enjoyed a fruitful tournament. His 35th minute goal paved the way for Malta's third win over Liechtenstein and always proved a handful to the opposing defense.
Malta head coach Noel Turner spoke with the Malta Independent about how he evaluated the true meaning of this tournament: "This was an amazing experience not only for these young boys, who I must say, up till this tournament never confronted any other foreign opposition. These matches were their first real taste of all this and you can imagine how pleased everyone is for these results. We had some of the boys undergoing exams during this tournament, so you can imagine what a real experience this has been for us the technical staff, the boys and everyone. Here I must mention the "attitude" through which the boys confronted this tournament which was very positive. Yes, very happy with the progress of this squad."
As part of UEFA's ongoing efforts to develop football across Europe, and in response to feedback received from the UEFA member associations, UEFA has set up the development tournaments to offer young footballing talents an additional opportunity to play competitive international matches. Following a pilot phase in 2012, the tournament programme has moved into full swing, with boys' and girls' events staged across Europe.
The U16 age category has been selected, as UEFA believes this to be a crucial stage in a player's development pathway to the elite level. Such friendly matches, as well as the preparation they involve, are key in facilitating the process of player development.
The U16 development tournaments are also designed to prepare the way for players to move into the U17 age group, where European competition begins in earnest. The tournaments have been given glowing references by national associations, coaches and technical experts. It also offers the chance to aspiring coaches and referees an excellent educational and learning environment platform involving internationals teams, but in a less stressful situation.
The tournament organising committees, meanwhile, can learn in practice how to handle certain operational issues, while friendships are forged - everybody involved in the tournaments gains a better understanding of different cultures and different people.
The development tournament programme stretches into the future, with national associations keen to use the opportunity that UEFA is giving them.
LECHTENSTEIN: Gabriel Foser, Marius Hasler (Luca Biedermann 51'), David Tschupp, Elias Jager, Philipp Gassner, Ricardo Brancaleone, Liam Kranz, Andrin Netzer, Andrin Risch (Jonas Beck 50'), Tim Schreiber, Yannick Allaart (Elias Batliner 38')
MALTA: Matthias Debono (Miguel Spiteri 58'), Sheldon Mizzi, Nikolai Farrugia Cross (Gianluca Sciberras 58'), Glen Mifsud (Ismael Borg 69'), Kurt Galea (Daniel Musu 41'), Isaac Galea (Gianluca Borg 69'), Karl Mohnani, Emerson Camilleri (Jordan Kelly 41'), Kurt Desira (Mattia Veselji 41'), Jake Bone, Jake Engerer, (Kurt Buhagiar 85')
Referee: Joseph Scerri (Malta)
