Malta step up preparations for Luxembourg friendly

Malta’s preparations for the friendly match against Luxembourg this Thursday kicked off in earnest on Monday morning when the players called up by coach Tom Saintfiet reported for international duty at the Technical Centre. Saintfiet had named a 25-man squad but defender Sam Magri was forced to pull out after suffering a knee injury while playing for his English club Ebbsfleet United. The other foreign-based players, forwards Andrè Schembri (Apollon Limassol) and Jean Paul Farrugia (FC Chiasso), winger Luke Gambin (Luton Town), defender Zach Muscat (US Arezzo) and wing-back Myles Beerman (Queen of the South), joined up with their international team-mates on Monday. Australian-based Mitchell Mallia, who is in the books of Blacktown City, is training with the squad. The Malta squad and the technical staff had the first session on Monday morning before checking in at the hotel. In the afternoon, they had another light session. The build-up for Thursday’s friendly at the National Stadium continues on Tuesday afternoon when the players will have another training session at the MFA Training Grounds. The official training session on the eve of the match takes place at the National Stadium on Wednesday. Luxembourg were due to arrive in Malta on Tuesday night and will train at the National Stadium on Wednesday evening. Thursday’s friendly against Luxembourg (kick-off 18.00) is Malta’s first outing in 2018. Tickets for the match cost only €5 and can be purchased online – http://bit.ly/mfa-tkts. After their friendly against Luxembourg, Malta meet Finland in another friendly match, to be played on Monday, March 26, in Belek, Antalya.