Malta U-19 national team coach Toze Mendes is urging his players to dare to dream as the young side makes their debut in the competition with a tough clash against Italy at the National Stadium on Monday (kick-off: 9pm).

The Malta youngsters will be keen to impress when playing against the elite nations on the continent in this age group and will be aware of the difficulty of their task today when they face an Italian side who is blessed by several players that reached the U-20 World Cup a few weeks ago.

“Playing in the U-19 European Championship finals is a huge challenge for everyone,” the Portuguese coach said.

“The MFA administration has a tough job on their hands to organise the final stages of this category but no doubt it’s a great advert for the country as Malta will be in the news in the next two weeks so we are looking forward to it.

“Our ambition is to play the best football we can and do all we can to make the country proud.”

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