Malta primed for Istanbul qualifiers

Malta's waterpolo squad, made up of 13 players, will be travelling to Istanbul next Thursday to take part in the Group A matches of the European Championship Qualification Tournament.

Malta will come up against Spain, Slovakia and hosts Turkey, four nations which will be regarded as formidable opposition for the team guided by Sergio Afric and his assistant Peter Decesare.

The other teams in these qualification matches are Macedonia, Greece, France and Slovenia in Group B and Romania, Russia, the Netherlands and Great Britain in Group C.

These group matches are scheduled to be played in Athens, Greece, and Oradea, Romania, respectively.

Six teams, the top two from each of these three groups, will join the top six continental nations, namely Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro and Serbia in the championship proper to be held in Zagreb in autumn.

The names of the final 13 players have been submitted to LEN and these come from five different clubs, Exiles, Neptunes, San Ġiljan, Sirens and Sliema.

Notable absentees are Steve Camilleri, currently engaged with the Italian Serie A1 team Rari Nantes Bogliasco, and Jerome Gabaretta, who is studying in England, while goalkeeper Josie Cachia and Jonathan Valletta, both retired, and Matthew Pisani will also be missing from the squad that finished sixth in Lugano last September.

This placing behind Turkey, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Slovenia earned Malta the right to proceed to this qualification tournament. No doubt, the Malta team would have been more balanced and stronger if these units had been available.

Coach Afric has picked the following players: Exiles: Joe Borg Cole, Timmy Sullivan. Neptunes: Nikki Lanzon, Michele Stellini. San Ġiljan: Matthew Zammit. Sirens: Alex Attard, Jurgen Borg. Sliema: Alex Bianchi, John Brownrigg, Clint Debono, Mark Meli, Paul Privitera and John Soler.

The squad has been undergoing training since the beginning of this year with the programme intensifying after the end of the first round of the 2010 winter league.

The programme

Friday, April 30: 6 p.m. Malta vs Spain; 8 p.m. Turkey vs Slovakia.
Saturday, May 1: 5.30 p.m. Turkey vs Malta; 7 p.m. Spain vs Slovakia.
Sunday, May 2: 10 a.m. Slovakia vs Malta; noon Turkey vs Spain.