Held finalises 18-man list as squad leaves for Lille

Hibernians striker Adrian Mifsud has been ruled out of Malta's qualifier against France by an ankle problem.

Mifsud's hopes of making the Maltese squad for Saturday's Group One qualifying match against European champions France at the Felix Bollaert Stadium (kick-off 8.45 p.m.) were dashed yesterday morning when the Hibs striker pulled up during training after feeling pain in his ankle.

Miguel Mifsud, also of Hibernians, was the other player dropped from the 18-man squad named by Sigfried Held in the evening. The Hibs' left-back has also been struggling to shake off a knock.

As is his norm, Held waited until the eve of the squad's departure before finalising his official players' list.

Injuries also deprive Held of three other key players, namely Joe Brincat, Gilbert Agius and Daniel Theuma, for the tough qualifying match in Lens.

Stefan Giglio, the Lokomotiv Sofia midfielder, is another notable absentee from the Maltese squad after he received a one-match ban by UEFA. The 24-year-old Giglio had picked another yellow card in the 2-1 defeat to Cyprus in a EURO 2004 qualifier last November.

Giglio, currently recovering from an achilles injury, and Kaiserslautern striker Michael Mifsud did not take part in Malta's match against Kazakhstan, which ended 2-2. Held then said that Giglio and Mifsud were omitted from the squad for shunning Malta's 2-0 victory over a Balearic Islands selection in a friendly match, played in Mallorca on December 28.

Mifsud was one of three foreign-based players called by Held for Saturday's game. He reported for duty on Monday along with Daniel Bogdanovic, of Bulgarian Division One club Cherno More, and Simon Vella, the Airdrie United defender.

David Carabott's inclusion in the squad means that the 35-year-old Malta skipper is likely to add to his record of appearances for Malta.

According to data collected by Joseph A. Sacco, the former Malta FA secretary, Carabott is the only Maltese player to have played 114 times for his country as former captain Carmel Busuttil has 113 appearances to his credit.

The Maltese contingent flies out to Brussels this morning at 9 before proceeding to their base in Lille by coach.

High-ranking Malta FA officials, including president Joe Mifsud, will not be on the same Air Malta flight with the players as they will attend UEFA's XXVII Congress in Rome today. Dr Mifsud is expected to travel to France tomorrow.

Meanwhile, tickets for Saturday's match in Lens have been sold out.

French sport journalists told The Times that Jacques Santini, the French coach, wanted the match against Malta to be played in northern France as a way of expressing the team's appreciation for the vibrant support of the fans in that region.

The build-up to the match has been dominated by speculation over who will skipper the team in the next two qualifiers after defender Marcel Desailly was left out of the squad because of injury problems.

Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane are the media's favourites to take over the captain's armband.

French players have barely made mention of Malta in interviews as they seem more concerned about their qualifier against Israel in Palermo on Wednesday, especially in view of the ongoing war in Iraq.

Malta's squad for France qualifier

Goalkeepers - Saviour Darmanin (Pietà), Mario Muscat (Hibernians).

Defenders - William Camenzuli (Birkirkara), Luke Dimech (Birkirkara), David Carabott (Valletta), Jeffrey Chetcuti (Sliema Wanderers), Ian Ciantar (Sliema Wanderers), Darren Debono (Valletta), Carlo Mamo (Sliema Wanderers), Brian Said (Sliema Wanderers), Simon Vella (Airdrie, Scotland).

Midfielders - David Camilleri (Sliema Wanderers), Jonathan Holland (Floriana), Noel Turner (Sliema Wanderers).

Strikers - Daniel Bogdanovic (Cherno More, Bulgaria), George Mallia (Birkirkara), Michael Mifsud (Kaiserslautern, Germany), Chucks Nwoko (Birkirkara).