National coach Tom Saintfiet yesterday named a squad of 25 players in preparation for the two friendly matches being played at home against Luxembourg and Finland, the latter match in Turkey.
The Belgian mentor included seven players of title chasing Valletta and four from league leaders Balzan.
Myles Beerman, Jean Borg, Triston Caruana, Mitchell Mallia and Siraj Arab are relative newcomers or complete newcomers to the national squad.
Out of the squad due to injury are Hibernians duo Johan Bezzina and Bjorn Kristensen, as well as Ryan Fenech of Balzan.
The friendly against Luxembourg tomorrow week heralds the start of Malta’s build-up for the inaugural UEFA Nations League which gets underway in September. Malta has been drawn in Group 3 of League D along with Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands and Kosovo. On March 26, Malta will be playing a second friendly against Finland in Turkey.
Tom Saintfiet, the Malta coach, and his assistant Ray Farrugia have been closely monitoring the performances of the Maltese players across all divisions over the past few months ahead of the squad selection next week.
An encouraging performance against Luxembourg would also help to raise the morale of the Maltese team ahead of their second friendly match against Finland.
Addressing a news conference yesterday afternoon, Saintfiet said: “We cannot play not to lose or play to lose narrowly. We have to play to win. We have to play offensive football and try to create as much scoring chances as possible.”
He said these two matches will serve a good purpose. “Both Luxembourg and Finland are good opponents, more or less similar to those we will be meeting in the European Nations League which starts in September. In these matches, we will be taking a good look at some new players. But this does not mean that this will be the final squad. We must make sure to have the best selection when the first match/matches in the Nations League are to be played next September.
“One of the newcomers to the squad will be Mitchell Mallia, who has already played for Australia’s Under 23 side. But in all probability, he will not be available for these matches as the MFA is still waiting for his clearance certificate from FIFA. We have to wait for the outcome. We hope it happens this week so that he will become available, but if not, he will certainly train with the squad next week,” said Saintfiet.
Asked about the form of the players in his squad, Saintfiet said he was aware that those playing abroad are not regulars in their clubs’ lineups. “They have been playing for just a few minutes. We will certainly know more about them next week,” he added.
The squad
Goalkeepers: Henry Bonello (Valletta), Andrew Hogg (Hibernians), Steve Sultana (Hamrun Spartans).
Defenders: Andrei Agius (Hibernians), Cain Attard (Birkirkara), Myles Beerman (Queen of the South, Scotland), Jean Borg (Valletta), Steve Borg (Valletta), Ryan Camilleri (Valletta), Sam Magri (Ebbsfleet United, England), Zach Muscat (US Arezzo, Italy), Michael Johnson (Balzan), Joseph Zerafa (Valletta).
Midfielders: Roderick Briffa (Gzira United), Triston Caruana (Hamrun Spartans), Paul Fenech (Balzan), Luke Gambin (Luton Town, England), Mitchell Mallia (Blacktown City, Australia), Rowen Muscat (Valletta), Steven Pisani (Floriana).
Strikers: Siraj Arab (Balzan), Alfred Effiong (Balzan), Jean Paul Farrugia (FC Chiasso, Switzerland), Michael Mifsud (Valletta), Andre Schembri (Apollon Limassol, Cyprus).
Malta registered a 2-0 win over Luxembourg in their last meeting – a friendly match at the Josey Barthel Stadium on 2 June, 2012.
Before that, Luxembourg had beaten Malta home and away in the 1996 Euro Championship qualifiers while the other two meetings, both friendly matches, finished 1-1.
Luxembourg gained six points in Group A of the European qualifiers for this year's World Cup in Russia.
Ticket price
The ticket price for the Malta-Luxembourg friendly on 22nd March is only €5 for both West Side sectors.
This attractive admission fee is aimed at encouraging local fans to go and support the national team in its first official outing for 2018.
Holders of club season tickets will receive free entrance to the Malta-Luxembourg match.
Tickets will be for sale only in West A and West C Stands (Millennium, North and South Stands will be closed)
Children under 12 years of age enter the stadium free of charge when accompanied by an adult (ticket must still be obtained and proof of age may be required at turnstile).
There will also be free entrance for holders of the club season cards.
Luxembourg's coach announces 23-man squad to face Malta and Austria
Yesterday Luxembourg boss Luc Holtz also announced his 23-man squad for the games against Malta and Austria five days later.
Three key players are missing: captain Mario Mutsch and best striker Aurélien Joachim (both with injuries) and defender Maxime Chanot who is playing in the Northern American Major Soccer League (MLS) and who will not join the team for these two matches.
The full squad is the following:
Daniel Alves da Mota, Leandro Barreiro Martins, Florian Bohnert, Dirk Carlson, Youn Czekanowicz, Maurice Deville, Lars Gerson, Tim Hall, Mathias Janisch, Laurent Jans, Enes Mahmutovic, Kevin Malget, Marvin Martins da Graca, Christophe Martins Pereira, Antrhony Moris, Jan Ostrowski, Chris Philipps, Gerson Rodrigues Gouveia, Ralph Schon, Daniel Sinani, Aldin Skenderovic, Vincent Thill, David Turpel.
It is well to note that 15 of the 23 players militate in various European leagues, among them Germany, Sweden, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Poland and Moldova.