National coach Dusan Fitzel yesterday dropped Jonathan Bondin of Valletta and Adrian Pulis of Hibernians from the squad for next Sunday’s match in Duesseldorf, Germany, against World Cup finalists Japan.

The squad is missing a good number of regular players, among them top striker Michael Mifsud of Lillestrom, Norway.

The former Sliema man is on duty for Lillestrom next Sunday and he has been given permission by the national coach to play for his club rather than join the national team simply because the Japan-Malta match is a friendly encounter.

Four others have been ruled out through injury. These are Ivan Woods of Sliema, Peter Pullicino of Hibernians, as well as Birkirkara’s Etienne Barbara and Roderick Briffa.

The group includes youngsters such as Andrei Agius, Roderick Bajada and Andre Schembri who have all been promoted from the Under 21 squad recently.

The 18-man squad making the trip to Duesseldorf is the following:

Goalkeepers: Justin Haber, Mario Muscat.

Defenders: Andrei Agius, Ian Azzopardi, Ian Ciantar, Luke Dimech, Brian Said, Kenneth Scicluna, Steve Wellman.

Midfielders: Roderick Bajada, Trevor Cilia, George Mallia, Claude Mattocks, Jamie Pace, Kevin Sammut.

Strikers: Gilbert Agius, Andrew Cohen, Andre Schembri.

The match on Sunday starts at 3pm and will be controlled by German referee Knut Kircher. On Tuesday, Japan held hosts Germany to a 2-2 draw.

The Maltese contingent, which will be headed by MFA president Dr Joseph Mifsud, departs today at 8am, on a flight direct to Duesseldorf.