Malta U-21 coach Silvio Vella has included several new faces in his provisional squad of 22 players for the friendly match against Cyprus on November 15 at the Tedesco Stadium.

After leading his charges to a record 11-point haul in Group One of the 2017 U-21 European Championship qualifying campaign, which came to a close last month, Vella is now looking to the next UEFA competition which gets underway next year.

The Malta coach has retained only five players from the previous group – Kurt Zammit, Jake Grech, James Brincat, Jurgen Degabriele and Joseph Mbong –  and will be looking to assess the qualities of the newcomers in next week’s warm-up.

The squad

Goalkeepers: Jake Galea (St Andrews), Philip Schranz (Tarxien Rainbows), Jamie Azzopardi (Gżira United).

Defenders: Iousef Meli (Żebbuġ Rangers), Karl Micallef (Pietà Hotspurs), Christian Degabriele (Pietà Hotspurs), Kurt Zammit (Tarxien Rainbows), Dunstan Vella (Hibernians), Daniel Buckle (Hibernians).

Midfielders: Sean Cipriott (Balzan), Dylan Agius (Pietà Hotspurs), Zachary Scerri (Gżira United), Juan Corbalan (Gżira United), Jake Grech (Ħamrun Spartans), Neil Pace Cocks (Pietà Hotspurs), James Brincat (Birkirkara), Dexter Xuereb (Mosta).

Forwards: Jurgen Suda (Valletta), Jurgen Degabriele (Hibernians), Joseph Mbong (Hibernians), Kyrian Nwoko (St Andrews), Jacob Walker (St Andrews).

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