There are three new faces in John Buttigieg’s national squad as the coach announced the names of the players to prepare for next week’s friendly match against Bulgaria.

The match is being played tomorrow week at the Hibs Ground.

The three newcomers are defenders Edward Herrera of Hibernians and Steve Bezzina of Valletta and midfielder Paul Fenech of Birkirkara.

The squad also sees the return to its ranks of striker Daniel Bogdanovic of English Championship side Barnsley FC.

Several players are absent for some reason or other. These include Schembri, Hutchinson, Muscat, Cohen and Scerri.

The 23-strong squad is the following:

Goalkeepers: Andrew Hogg, Mario Muscat.

Defenders: Andrei Agius, Ian Azzopardi, Shaun Bajada, Steve Bezzina, Edward Herrera, Brian Said, Kenneth Scicluna, Aaron Xuereb.

Midfielders: Gilbert Agius, Roderick Briffa, Clayton Failla, Ryan Fenech, Paul Fenech, George Mallia, Jamie Pace, Kevin Sammut.

Strikers: Etienne Barbara, Daniel Bogdanovic, Michael Mifsud, Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza, Ivan Woods.