Another international break has slowly crept up on us, taking everyone by surprise when the full-time whistle was blown at the end of Ipswich Town’s 3-2 win against Swansea City on Saturday afternoon.
It means that the Blues have a fortnight to rest and recover ahead of their trip to West Brom, although some players will be much busier than others in that time.
Alex Jones has a look at what the Blues’ international players will be up to in the next few days.
Nathan Broadhead – Wales
There’s no Wes Burns in this Wales squad, which will probably please most Town fans. The winger fully deserves to be playing on the international stage, but injuries during his last two call-ups have been concerning for those at Portman Road.
It leaves Nathan Broadhead as the only Welsh representative for the Blues, albeit that he’s only scored once since the last international break. Illness kept him out of the 2-2 draw against Rotherham United, but he’ll be hoping that minutes for Rob Page’s side will keep him fit and firing ahead of a tough run of fixtures for Ipswich.
Reporting for duty. 🏴🫡@Cymru | #itfc pic.twitter.com/ChZZf6YHsj
— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) November 13, 2023
The Dragons face two colossal games, starting with a trip to Armenia on Saturday afternoon (2pm). They then return to Cardiff next Tuesday for their final Euro 2024 qualifier against Turkey (7:45), knowing that they’ll have to match Croatia’s results against Latvia and Armenia to stand a chance of qualifying.
Broadhead is looking for his eighth and ninth international caps, and he’ll be aiming to have a big impact after bagging a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win against Gibraltar last month.
Cameron Burgess and Massimo Luongo – Australia
Having travelled no further than London during the last international break, Cameron Burgess and Massimo Luongo are going to be upping their mileage this month.
The duo are back in Graham Arnold’s Australia squad. Burgess, who made his international debut back in September, is now looking for his third and fourth caps, while Luongo, who returned last month after a five-year absence, is looking to take his total to 46.
The Socceroos played friendly games against England and New Zealand last month, but the pressure has ramped up, with World Cup qualifying kicking off against Bangladesh at AAMI Park in Melbourne tomorrow morning (9am). They then face Palestine away from home next Tuesday (2pm), but due to the ongoing conflict, that match will take place in Kuwait.
The games will be a good opportunity for Burgess and Luongo to prove that they should be part of Australia’s squad for next year’s Asian Cup, although they’ll miss a crucial part of Ipswich’s league campaign if they’re included.
Dane Scarlett – England Men’s Elite League Squad
A lot has changed for England under-20’s since they were rebranded to become to Elite League Squad.
Dane Scarlett, who’s on loan at Ipswich from Tottenham Hotspur, was named in the squad last month after dropping down from the under-21’s. They travelled to Romania before hosting Portugal, but they were beaten in both games, losing 2-0 and 2-1 respectively.
Manager Joe Edwards has since left his role, taking up the position of head coach at Town’s Championship rivals Millwall. Ben Futcher has been placed in charge on an interim basis, naming Scarlett in the squad once again for their upcoming games.
The Young Lions will start with a game against Italy at Doncaster Rovers’ Keepmoat Stadium on tomorrow (7pm) before travelling to Jahnstadion Regensburg to face Germany next Monday (5pm).
Scarlett, who’s yet to start a game for the Blues since joining at the end of the summer, will be hoping to use this as a good opportunity to build up some minutes.
Cieran Slicker – Scotland under-21’s
Cieran Slicker is another player struggling for minutes at club level, having last started for Ipswich’s first-team against Reading back in August. He’s been named on the bench a few times since then, but Christian Walton’s return from injury has seen him slide down the pecking order and out of the matchday squad in the Championship.
At international level, he’s the first-choice goalkeeper for Scotland under-21’s, and manager Scot Gemmill will certainly be relying on him in their next two games of EURO U21 qualifying. They start with a difficult trip to the Stadion Schiervelde where they’ll face Belgium on Friday (5pm) before jetting off to the Hidegkuti Nandor Stadium for their match against Hungary next Tuesday (7pm).
Given that they’re trailing both Spain and Belgium in their group, as well as the fact that they’re level on points with Hungary, Scotland could certainly do with two wins from two to boost their chances of reaching the tournament in 2025.
Elkan Baggott – Indonesia
Elkan Baggott from his back injury at the end of last month, returning to Ipswich’s squad to face Fulham in the Carabao Cup, where he scored a late consolation goal.
Other than that, he’s had little to no game time, so more international minutes will do him the world of good, with a chance to hit 19 senior caps in the coming days.
Indonesia moved past the first stage of World Cup qualifying with a 12-0 aggregate win against Brunei, sending them into the second round, where they’ve been drawn in a group with Iraq, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Baggott’s side start the break two away games, facing Iraq at the Basra International Stadium on Thursday (2:45pm) before heading to the Rizal Memorial Stadium for their match against the Philippines next Tuesday (11am).
After that, Indonesia’s attentions turn to the Asian Cup, which will see the defender away on international duty at the start of next year.
Ipswich under-21’s
Town’s under-21’s side have two players away during the international break, with crucial EURO U19 qualifying matches coming up for both.
17-year-old goalkeeper Woody Williamson will be representing Scotland, who face Bulgaria at the Spartak Stadium today (2:30pm) before facing Andorra at the Albena 1 Stadium in Bulgaria on Saturday (11am).
Meanwhile, midfielder Rio Morgan, who’s also just 17, has been named in Northern Ireland’s under-19 squad by manager Gareth McAuley, who made 115 appearances for Ipswich between 2008 and 2011. They face just one game during the November international break, which takes place at home to Hungary this evening (7pm).
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