Alfred Effiong has been named in Malta’s provisional squad for the upcoming international commit-ments after the Nigeria-born forward was granted Maltese citizenship last month.

The Qormi striker is one of five new faces in Pietro Ghedin’s 26-strong list as the Malta coach main-tained his policy of including up-and-coming youngsters in his national team squad.

Ghedin has also awarded a recall to Hibs keeper Henry Bonello.

Wing-backs Ryan Camenzuli and Jurgen Pisani, who play for Bir-kirkara and Pietà Hotspurs res-pectively, also earned their first senior call-up along with two members of the U-19 squad, Floriana midfielder Conor Borg, who is being linked with a move to Serie A club Roma at the end of the season, and Joseph Mbong, the versatile Hibs winger.

The presence of Effiong and Mbong in Ghedin’s initial selection means that, for the first time in many years, the Malta squad could feature two Nigeria-born players for the friendly against Georgia on March 25 and the Euro 2016 qualifier against Azerbaijan three days later .

While Effiong has successfully applied for a Maltese passport as he has been married to a local girl for five years, teenager Mbong secured Maltese citizenship on sporting grounds before the UEFA U-17 Championships, staged here last May.

Mbong, the son of former Hibs midfielder Essien Mbong who passed away in 2013, was only two when his family relocated to Malta.

While Mbong is widely tipped to make the grade at senior level in the coming years on the back of his fine performances for Malta Under-17 and Under-19, Effiong must make the most of the opportunity handed to him by Ghedin as he is already 30.

Ghedin and assistant coach Ray Farrugia have been tracking Effiong’s form for several months after learning of the experienced forward’s intentions to apply for Maltese citizenship.

Effiong’s availability is a boost for Ghedin as his attacking options have been hit hard by Michael Mifsud’s two-match ban and subsequent lay-off due to a shin problem.

The 33-year-old striker, Malta’s all-time leading scorer with 39 goals in 108 appearances, was sanc-tioned after a harsh first half dismissal in the 1-0 home defeat to Italy in October.

Mifsud, who played the entire 90 minutes in Sliema’s 2-1 defeat to Balzan on Sunday, is ineligible to play against Azerbaijan as he has only served one of his two-match ban, in the 1-1 draw against Bulgaria in November.

Jean Paul Farrugia, who recently rejoined Hibernians after a short spell with Slovakian club Spartak Trnava, team-mate Andrew Cohen and Andrè Schembri are the other forwards on Ghedin’s roster.

Schembri’s fairytale start to his second spell with Cypriot club Omonia Nicosia continued on Sunday when he scored his team’s goal in the 1-1 draw against derby rivals APOEL Nicosia.

Ghedin will take 23 players to Georgia and Azerbaijan, meaning that only three will be dropped from his initial squad.

As there are four Premier League matches on Thursday and two on Friday, the first group of players in Ghedin’s squad are expected to report for training on Friday.

Apart from the five newcomers, the Italian coach has kept faith with his established players.

Valletta defender Steve Borg is back in the frame after completing a three-match ban following a red card in Malta’s opening qualifier away to Croatia which saw the Balkans side winning 2-0.

Malta meet Georgia in a warm-up tomorrow week in preparation for the Group H qualifier at Azerbaijan.

Still without a point after four games, the Azeris will be hellbent on breaking their duck in their home clash with Malta who climbed off the foot of the table after their draw against Bulgaria in Sofia.

Provisional squad

Goalkeepers: Justin Haber (Birkir-kara), Henry Bonello (Hibernians), Andrew Hogg (Kalloni), Glenn Zammit (Sliema Wanderers).

Defenders: Andrei Agius (Hibs), Steve Bezzina (Balzan), Steve Borg (Valletta), Jonathan Caruana (Valletta), Ryan Camenzuli (Birkirkara), Ryan Camilleri (Valletta), Clayton Failla (Hibs), Jurgen Pisani (Pietà), Zach Muscat (Birkirkara).

Midfielders: Conor Borg (Floriana), Roderick Briffa (Valletta), Paul Fenech (Birkirkara), Ryan Fenech (Valletta), Bjorn Kristensen (Hibs), Rowen Muscat (Birkirkara), Steve Pisani (Floriana), Mark Scerri (Sliema).

Forwards: Andrew Cohen (Hibernians), Alfred Effiong (Qormi), Jean Paul Farrugia (Hibernians), Joseph Mbong (Hibernians), Andrè Schembri (Omonia Nicosia).

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