{"id":53044,"date":"2025-11-09T06:41:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T05:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=53044"},"modified":"2025-11-09T06:45:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T05:45:11","slug":"de-leo-names-final-squad-for-november-world-cup-qualifiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/09\/de-leo-names-final-squad-for-november-world-cup-qualifiers\/","title":{"rendered":"De Leo names final squad for November World Cup qualifiers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Malta coach Emilio De Leo has named the final squad for the upcoming European Qualifiers (Group G) for the 2026 World Cup against Finland and Poland. The team will travel to Helsinki on Friday, 14 November 2025 to face Finland at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium at 6:00\u202fpm local time. Three days later, on Monday, 17 November 2025, Malta will return to Ta\u2019 Qali National Stadium to host Poland, with kick-off scheduled for 8:45\u202fpm. This fixture will mark the last game of the group.<\/p>\n<p>There are several notable inclusions in the squad. Young defender Sven Xerri, who was previously named in the provisional squad in March, has now secured his first full international call-up under De Leo. Trent Buhagiar, currently playing in Singapore, has once again been included, having last featured in the squad in March. Goalkeeper Matthias Debono was called up for the provisional squad in May 2025, and has now been named in the final squad.<\/p>\n<p>Defender James Carragher returns after recovering from injury, having missed the September and October international windows.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Ryan Camenzuli and Teddy Teuma will serve a one-match suspension in the Finland qualifier but will be available for the home clash against Poland on 17 November. Basil Tuma is also back in the squad after missing the previous window, completing a selection that balances experience with youth.<\/p>\n<p>In the current Group G standings, the Netherlands lead the table with 16 points from six matches, followed by Poland on 13 points from the same number of games. Finland are third with 10 points and Lithuania fourth with three points both from seven matches, while Malta have two points from six games.<\/p>\n<p>The final squad is as follows:<\/p>\n<p>MALTA SQUAD<\/p>\n<p><strong>Goalkeepers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Henry Bonello (\u0126amrun Spartans FC), Rashed Al Tumi (Sliema Wanderers FC), Matthias Debono (Naxxar Lions FC).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Defenders<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Zach Muscat (Chaves FC &#8211; POR), Juan Carlos Corbalan (Marsaxlokk FC), Kurt Shaw (Sorrento FC \u2013 ITA), Enrico Pepe (Marsaxlokk FC), Jean Borg (Sliema Wanderers FC), James Carragher (Wigan Athletic FC \u2013 ENG), Gabriel Mentz (G\u017cira United FC), Sven Xerri (\u0126amrun Spartans FC), Ryan Camenzuli (\u0126amrun Spartans FC)*, Myles Beerman (Sliema Wanderers FC).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Midfielders\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matthew Guillaumier (Panserraikos FC &#8211; GRE), Brandon Diego Paiber (Valletta FC), Alexander Satariano (Athens Kallithea FC &#8211; GRE), Yannick Yankam (Valletta FC), Teddy Teuma (Reims FC \u2013 FRA)*, Jake Grech (Floriana FC).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Forwards\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Joseph E. Mbong (\u0126amrun Spartans FC), Paul Mbong (FK \u010cukari\u010dki \u2013 SRB), Ilyas Chouaref (Sion FC \u2013 SUI), Adam Magri Overend (Sliema Wanderers FC),\u00a0Irvin Cardona (AS Saint-\u00c9tienne \u2013 FRA), Trent Buhagiar (Tampines Rovers \u2013 SGP), Kemar Reid (Birkirkara FC), Basil Tuma (Reading FC \u2013 ENG).<\/p>\n<p>*suspended for the match against Finland<\/p>\n<p>Source: MFA<\/p>\n<p>Photo: MFA<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_53044\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"53044\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Malta coach Emilio De Leo has named the final squad for the upcoming European Qualifiers (Group G) for the 2026 World Cup against Finland and Poland. The team will travel to Helsinki on Friday, 14 November 2025 to face Finland at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium at 6:00\u202fpm local time. Three days later, on Monday, 17 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_53044\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"53044\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 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alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-53044","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local","8":"category-world"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-150x113.jpg",150,113,true],"medium":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"large":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"td_0x420":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"td_80x60":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-80x60.jpg",80,60,true],"td_218x150":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-218x150.jpg",218,150,true],"td_324x400":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-324x300.jpg",324,300,true],"td_696x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"td_1068x0":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"td_100x70":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-100x70.jpg",100,70,true],"td_265x198":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-265x198.jpg",265,198,true],"td_324x160":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-324x160.jpg",324,160,true],"td_324x235":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-324x235.jpg",324,235,true],"td_356x220":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-356x220.jpg",356,220,true],"td_356x364":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-356x300.jpg",356,300,true],"td_533x261":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2-400x261.jpg",400,261,true],"td_534x462":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"td_696x385":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"td_741x486":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false],"td_1068x580":["http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Malta-National-team-file.jpg-2.jpg",400,300,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bernard Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Malta coach Emilio De Leo has named the final squad for the upcoming European Qualifiers (Group G) for the 2026 World Cup against Finland and Poland. The team will travel to Helsinki on Friday, 14 November 2025 to face Finland at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium at 6:00\u202fpm local time. Three days later, on Monday, 17&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53044"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53050,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53044\/revisions\/53050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}