Ipswich Town: Eight players away on November international duty

The Republic of Ireland will assess Dara O'Shea's back injury this week (Image: PA)

Sammie Szmodics and Dara O’Shea – Republic of Ireland

The ‘Republic of Town’ – as playfully coined by Sammie Szmodics earlier in the season – is back, but this time with far fewer members.

There’s no Chiedozie Ogbene, who injured his Achilles in the 4-3 defeat to Brentford and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Jack Taylor is also out, although he’s targeting a return after the international break.

Szmodics is in, however, looking for his ninth cap at the level. He admitted in his press conference on Monday afternoon that, at 29, he feels like one of the more senior players in the squad. The average age has certainly gone down this month.

The attacker is joined by Town team-mate Dara O’Shea, who’s been playing with a ‘pretty severe’ back injury that he picked up in the 4-1 defeat to West Ham last month. Ireland’s assistant manager, John O’Shea, has said that the centre-back will be assessed ahead of their first game tomorrow.

That’ll be at home to Finland in Nations League B, with kick-off set for 7:45pm in Dublin. A win will guarantee that the Boys in Green avoid last place and automatic relegation to League C, although they’ll still have to go through the play-offs in third.

Then, on Sunday, November 17th (5pm GMT), Ireland head to Wembley to take on arch-rivals England in the final match of the group stages. It’ll be a mouth-watering prospect for Szmodics and O’Shea, who’ll both want to be involved from the start.

Omari Hutchinson starred off the bench for England U21s against Azerbaijan last month (Image: PA)

Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson – England Under-21

England Under-21s qualified for EURO U21 with a 2-1 win against Ukraine last month and subsequently secured top spot with a 7-0 thrashing of Azerbaijan at Ashton Gate, a game where Omari Hutchinson put in a dazzling performance off the bench.

He’s back in the squad again this month, where he’s unsurprisingly joined by one-man wrecking ball Liam Delap, who’s been one of the surprise packages of the Premier League season so far with six goals in just 11 games.

The Young Lions have two friendly games coming up. First, they’ll head to Cadiz to take on Spain on Friday, November 15th (5:30pm GMT) before travelling to Almere to face the Netherlands on Monday, November 18th (5:45pm GMT).

Hutchinson currently has two caps at the level while Delap has eight.

Cameron Burgess has played regularly for the Blues in the last month (Image: PA)

Cameron Burgess – Australia

Defender Cameron Burgess has been thrust into Ipswich’s starting lineup in the last month. Just hours after playing out a 1-1 draw against Japan in World Cup qualifying – a game in which he scored an own-goal – he flew back to England to make his Premier League debut against Everton following Jacob Greaves’ hamstring injury.

Since then, he’s started in all four league games for the Blues and now finds himself back in the Australia squad, looking to build on the 11 caps he has to his name.

The Socceroos are under new management, with Tony Popovic taking a win and a draw from his first two games in charge. Those results have lifted his side up to second in Group C, five points behind Japan. The top two will secure a place at the tournament in 2026 and avoid the play-offs.

Australia will take on the two sides who are level on points with them after four matches, starting with a home game against Bahrain in Melbourne tomorrow (9:10am GMT). They’ll then head to Riffa to face Bahrain on Tuesday, November 19th (6:15pm GMT).

Arijanet Muric has 40 senior caps for Kosovo at the age of 25 (Image: PA)

Arijanet Muric – Kosovo

Arijanet Muric’s Kosovo continue their push to secure promotion from Nations League C, although top spot is looking unlikely with two games to go.

A trip to Romania comes first on Friday, November 15th (7:45pm GMT) – a game which the visitors will need to win to stand any chance of avoiding the play-offs. Mircea Lucescu’s side have won all four of their games, including a 3-0 victory the reverse fixture back in September.

Should Kosovo claim three points in that match, they’ll need to better Romania’s result against Cyprus as they host Lithuania in Pristina on Monday, November 18th (7:45pm GMT). If they fail to do so, a second-place finish is already secured, so they’ll be involved in the play-offs if nothing else.

Muric currently has 40 international caps to his name, having returned to the squad after being expelled earlier this season.

Ali Al-Hamadi has been in and out of Town's squad in the last few weeks (Image: Ross Halls)

Ali Al-Hamadi – Iraq

Striker Ali Al-Hamadi hasn’t been a regular face in the Iraq squad due to injury, but he’s got his call-up this time. It’s a good opportunity for him to play while minutes at Ipswich are limited, and a chance for him to build on the 14 caps he’s currently got.

Jesus Casas’ side continue their World Cup qualifying campaign with a home game against Jordan tomorrow (4:15pm BST) before their trip to Oman on Tuesday, November 19th (4pm BST).

Iraq currently sit third in Group B, behind second-place Jordan on goal difference alone.

Cieran Slicker received his first senior Scotland call-up this month (Image: PA)

Cieran Slicker – Scotland

This international break will be particularly special for Cieran Slicker, who’s earned his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad. This has come due to an injury to Norwich City shot-stopper Angus Gunn, with manager Steve Clarke promoting the U21s captain after their EURO U21 campaign ended in heartbreak.

Whether or not he’ll earn his first cap this month remains to be seen, but the fact that he’s been called up before playing a single league game in an Ipswich shirt shows how highly he’s rated within the national team set-up. He’ll gain some fantastic experience, even if he doesn’t play this time.

Scotland start with a home game against Croatia in Nations League A on Friday, November 15th. They’ll need to match Poland’s result against Portugal to take it to the final day, where they’d then need to beat Michal Probierz’s men in Warsaw to avoid relegation to League B.

All in all, the Scots seem destined to drop down a division, but there’s still a glimmer of hope, and Slicker will surely relish the chance to be in the squad for two huge games.