Carragher, Chouaref named in Malta provisional squad for Finland and Poland qualifiers

Malta coach Emilio De Leo has named a provisional squad of 37 players for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup European qualifiers.

Malta will begin their journey in Group G with a home match against Finland on Friday, March 21, at the National Stadium in Ta’ Qali.

The match, scheduled to kick off at 8.45pm, will mark the start of De Leo’s tenure as Head Coach of the National Teams following his appointment in January. 

Three days later, the team will head to Warsaw for a tough away fixture against Poland at the Stadion Narodowy, on Monday, March 24.

Taking a glance at the provisional squad, De Leo has included established players along with a host of up-and-coming youngsters and newcomers, including players from the Challenge League, the second tier of Maltese football.

De Leo has selected two players who were recently granted Maltese citizenship by descent, namely Wigan Athletic’s James Lee Carragher and Ilyas Chouaref, who plays for Swiss top-flight club FC Sion, taking the number of foreign-based players in the Malta squad to nine.

Ħamrun Spartans FC duo Steve Borg and Luke Montebello, both of whom missed the last international window in November due to injury, are making a return to the national squad. 

They are joined by their younger team-mates Mattias Ellul and Sven Xerri, along with Juan Carlos Corbalan (Marsaxlokk), Jake Grech (Floriana), Bjorn Kristensen (Hibernians), Adam Magri Overend (Sliema Wanderers) and Brandon Diego Paiber (Valletta). 

Defender Zach Muscat, now playing in Turkey, has also been named in De Leo’s provisional selection.

De Leo’s squad also features five Under-21 players. Besides Ellul and Xerri, there are three other new faces in Andrew Borg (Gżira United), Jake Azzopardi (Valletta), and Isaiah Chukunyere (Hibernians). 

Two other new additions to the squad are Mattia Veselji, currently playing in Serbia, and Aleandro Garzia (Floriana FC).

On the downside, De Leo has to make do without defender Gabriel Mentz, suspended, while Jurgen Degabriele, Kemar Reid, Jodie Jones, and Dylan Scicluna are sidelined with injuries.

THE SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Rashed Al Tumi (FC Sheriff Tiraspol, Moldova), Henry Bonello (Ħamrun Spartans), Matthew Grech (Birkirkara FC).

Defenders: Myles Beerman (Sliema Wanderers), Jean Borg (Sliema Wanderers FC), Steve Borg (Ħamrun Spartans), Ryan Camenzuli (Ħamrun Spartans), James Lee Carragher (Wigan Athletic, England), Juan Carlos Corbalan (Marsaxlokk), Mattias Ellul (Ħamrun Spartans), Aleandro Garzia (Floriana), Adam Magri Overend (Sliema Wanderers), Neil Micallef (Birkirkara), Zach Muscat (Sanliurfaspor, Turkey), Enrico Pepe (Gżira United), Sven Xerri (Ħamrun Spartans), Carlo Zammit Lonardelli (Floriana), Kurt Shaw (Hibernians).

Midfielders: Jake Azzopardi (Valletta), Andrew Borg (Gżira United), Jake Grech (Floriana), Matthew Guillaumier (FKS Stal Mielec Spolka Akcyjna, Poland), Bjorn Kristensen (Hibernians), Brandon Paiber (Valletta), Steven Pisani (Sliema Wanderers), Alexander Satariano (Birkirkara), Teddy Teuma (Stade Reims, France), Dunstan Vella (Floriana).

Forwards: Joseph Mbong (Ħamrun Spartans), Paul Mbong (Birkirkara), Luke Montebello (Ħamrun Spartans), Kyrian Nwoko (Sliema Wanderers), Basil Tenywa Tuma (Reading Under 21), Mattia Veselji (FK Smederevo 1924), Trent Anthony Buhagiar (Kapaz PFK), Ilyas Chouaref (FC Sion), Isaiah Chukunyere (Hibernians).