Malta waterpolo coach Karl Izzo (left) and Niki Lanzon, the national team captain, hold their awards. Photo: Paul Zammit CutajarMalta waterpolo coach Karl Izzo (left) and Niki Lanzon, the national team captain, hold their awards. Photo: Paul Zammit Cutajar

National coach Karl Izzo yesterday named his final squad for the first round qualification tournament of the European Championships, to be staged in Utrecht, the Netherlands this weekend.

Malta will face France, Latvia and hosts Netherlands in the mini-tournament which gets under way on Friday and ends on Sunday.

Under Izzo’s guidance, the national squad members have been preparing for this overseas assignment for the last month, albeit their preparations were somewhat hindered by a dispute between Sliema ASC and the national coach over the training schedule.

Izzo had initially dropped the Sliema players from his squad after they missed some practice sessions to train with club coach Paul Privitera but the differences have been resolved following talks between Sliema ASC and the ASA.

Mark Meli is the only Sliema ASC player to be included in Izzo’s 13-man squad.

Champions Neptunes have the largest contingent in the final squad with a total of six players.

On an uplifting note, the commendable results achieved by the national waterpolo team in 2014 were recognised at the Sport Malta Awards L-Għażliet Sportivi Nazzjonali, held last Saturday.

Izzo, winner of the official of the year accolade last year, was named coach of the year while the senior waterpolo squad secured the team title.

The ASA contingent, spearheaded by ASA president Joe Caruana Curran and vice-president Simon Testaferrata, leave for the Netherlands today.

Malta meet France in their opening match on Friday, starting at 9pm.

The squad
Peter Borg (Exiles), Alan Borg Cole (Neptunes), Jordan Camilleri (Neptunes), Steve Camilleri (Neptunes), Niki Grixti (Sirens), Niki Lanzon (Neptunes), Mark Meli (Sliema), Clint Mercieca (Neptunes), Daniel Paolella (Valletta), Michael Rizzo (Valletta), Michele Stellini (Neptunes), Dino Zammit (San Ġiljan), Matthew Zammit (San Ġiljan).

Programme
Friday: France vs Malta - 21.00
Saturday: Malta vs Netherlands - 15.00
Sunday: Malta vs Latvia - 12.00

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.