Seven Southampton players called up to first team squad
For players not selected for their country, the international break will be a final rest before a chaotic clash.
Southampton will play their final 10 games of the season in just 36 days, starting with a home game against Middlesbrough on Friday 29th March. Let’s take a closer look at who’s called up this month and who they’ll be playing against…
The Republic of Ireland have the most healthy internationals and caps in Southampton’s squad, but have only selected two of their three candidates this month. Gavin Bazunu and Will Smallbone are included in caretaker manager John O’Shea’s squad for home games against Belgium and Switzerland.
Quarterback Ryan Manning is not on the list, which also includes league leading scorer Sammy Schmodic. Bazunu has started eight of Ireland’s last nine games and could replace Liverpool’s Caoichhin Kelleher, who has performed well in the Premier League without Alisson Becker.
Striker Che Adams was recalled to the Scotland squad and replaced by Hearts’ Laurence Shankland during the November international break. Stuart Armstrong was also part of Steve Clarke’s 25-man squad, along with Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay and John McGinn.
Scotland, who have qualified for this summer’s European Championship in Germany, will face the Netherlands at the Johan Cruyff Arena and Hampden Park in Northern Ireland. For Adams, this camp is an opportunity to ensure he returns as a first-choice striker ahead of the Euro opener against Germany in Munich.
wales
Roani David Brooks has joined Rob Page’s squad for the Wales Championship play-off qualifiers. Wales need to beat Finland at Cardiff City Stadium to qualify for a home play-off final against Poland or Estonia.
Brooks will be competing for promotion alongside a number of players from Leicester, Ipswich and Leeds. As mentioned above, Jan Bednarek’s Poland has also reached the knockout stage and will have to beat Estonia at the PGE Narodwy Stadium to reach the final.
The winner of the play-off between Wales and Poland will be placed in Group D alongside the Netherlands, Austria and France. Northern Ireland
Midfielder Shay Charles may not be a regular for Saints after joining this summer, but the 20-year-old has established himself as a key player for Northern Ireland.
He was selected in manager Michael O’Neill’s team to play in international friendlies against Romania and Scotland. Joe Aribo, who played in the Super Eagles team that lost in the African Cup of Nations final, was not included in this month’s squad.
This break will allow Aribo a chance to recover and return directly to his post with the Saints AFCON team.
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