Camilleri's boys to test wits against Danes
New floodlights at Hibs Ground
Edwin Camilleri's U-21 national team will be gearing up for the UEFA Championship qualifiers with a tough test against Denmark at the Hibs Ground this evening.
The first official showing of the U-21 team, a friendly international, will also coincide with the inauguration of the floodlighting system at the stadium in Corradino.
This project is co-financed by the Malta FA, UEFA and AS Hibernians as part of a plan aimed at improving sports facilities around the islands.
When the draw for the qualifying rounds of the 2011 UEFA Championship was made last week, Malta U-21 was pitted in Group Eight along with France, Ukraine, Belgium and Slovenia.
With the opening qualifier scheduled for March 31 against Slovenia, this friendly comes at a right time for coach Camilleri who took over from Mark Miller in autumn.
He selected a relatively inexperienced group as most of the players in the 'old' squad were no longer in contention as they either moved to a higher category or are ineligible due to age restrictions.
Among those with Premier League matches under their belt are Sliema duo Henry Bonello and Mark Scerri, Msida defender Tyrone Farrugia, Birkirkara midfielder Joseph Zerafa and strikers Ben Camilleri (Hibs) and Warren Chircop (Tarxien).
"This will be the first of two warm-up matches ahead of the match against Slovenia," Camilleri said.
"Next week, we play England C and we want to make the most of these two friendlies to see where we stand before the qualifiers.
The squad is full of newcomers but our objective mainly is to groom most of them to make the national team one day."
The Danes, who were ousted by Serbia from this year's finals in a play-off, will be hosting the finals in two years' time so they won't figure in the qualifying round.
However, coach Keld Bordinggaard is keen to see his players staying sharp even though he might be tempted to introduce some new faces, having just extended his contract with the Danish FA by another two years.
Referee: Malcolm David (Northern Ireland FA).
Kick-off: 19.00.
Squad
Goalkeepers: H. Bonello (Sliema), N. Vella (Valletta).
Defenders: S. Borg (Mosta), C. Gatt Baldacchino (Tarxien), A. Borg (Mosta), T. Farrugia (Msida), S. Bonnici (Floriana).
Midfielders: J. Buttigieg (Nadur), D. Mifsud (Pietà), J. Mintoff (Sliema), J. Zerafa (Birkirkara), L. Agius (Floriana), B. Muscat (St Patrick), M. Scerri (Sliema).
Forwards: B. Camilleri (Hibs), W. Chircop (Tarxien), Q. Refalo (Pieta), T. Vella (Pietà).