Malta U-21 set for an away friendly against Portugal

Malta's U-21 squad will travel to Portugal to play an international friendly towards the end of next month.

No date has been announced for this friendly but sources told The Times that the match is likely to be held on May 22.

The Malta U-21 team's friendly in Portugal, hosts for the EURO 2004 finals in summer, comes only a few days before another high-profile match involving the Maltese senior team.

EURO 2004 finalists Germany will host Malta in a friendly match in Freiburg on May 27, the day after the Champions League final, this year being played at Schalke 04's Gelsenkirchen Stadium.

The warm-up match against the Portuguese U-21s should serve as a useful test for the Maltese youngsters in their preparations for the European Championship qualifying campaign starting in September.

Last month, Miller's team scored a morale-boosting 2-0 win against Finland in an international friendly at the Hibs Ground. Malta's goals came via an own goal and a late Stephen Magri strike.