Manny Muscat is in line for a recall to the Malta squad for next month’s friendly international against Albania.
Muscat, who plays for A-League club Wellington Phoenix, has not featured for Malta since Pietro Ghedin took over from John Buttigieg in May 2012.
With Malta kicking off its Euro 2016 preparations with a warm-up against Albania on March 5, it appears that Ghedin has made up his mind to hand Muscat a chance to revive his international career.
The 29-year-old Muscat has been a regular for Wellington Phoenix since joining the New Zealand-based club in 2008. He was in the starting line-up for last weekend’s 5-0 home rout to Melbourne Heart, who have Malta captain Michael Mifsud in their ranks.
Capped nine times by Malta, Muscat usually plays as a flank defender.
With Muscat in contention for a place in the Malta squad, Ghedin could name up to five foreign-based players for the Tirana friendly.
Mifsud, who netted a hat-trick for the youth team of Melbourne Heart on Saturday, AC Omonia forward André Schembri, defender Andrei Agius, now with Serie C2 club L’Aprilia, and goalkeeper Andrew Hogg, currently with Greek club Kalloni, are al expected to be included in Ghedin’s squad. Schembri scored a superb goal in Omonia’s 3-1 league win over AE Kouklion on Saturday to take his tally to 10 for the season.
Ghedin is also expected to award a recall to defender Steve Borg who has been playing regularly for Valletta since returning from a lengthy injury lay-off.
The March 5 game will be Malta’s first official outing of 2014 and the first for over four months. In their last friendly, played on November 19, Malta beat the Faroe Islands 3-2 at the National Stadium.
Ghedin will be eager to gauge his players’ fitness levels and sharpness before the trip to Albania as, for the first time in the last three decades, the members of the Malta squad have been practising solely with their clubs following the decision to ditch the old training scheme late last year.
Exciting youngsters
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the MFA technical centre has been making enquiries about at least three promising youngsters of Maltese descent.
The latest player to register on the MFA’s radar is Joe Muscat who recently made his debut for the Under-18 team of English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
It remains to be seen whether Muscat is eligible to play for Malta but the youngster is also believed to have a good chance of earning a call-up to England’s youth squad.
The other two exciting prospects who have Maltese roots are Reno Mauro Piscopo and Ruben Sammut.
Having joined Inter in 2012, Piscopo is a key member of the Nerazzurri’s youth squad. He has also made some appearances for Italy’s U-16 team.
Sammut, who plays in midfield, is a regular for Chelsea’s U-18 team. The 17-year-old has already represented Scotland at U-16 level but is also eligible to play for Malta and England.