TEN BLUEBIRDS IN INTERNATIONAL ACTION

As we take a break from the Sky Bet Championship action, TEN Cardiff City players have been given the honoured opportunity of representing their respective countries, the latest being Declan John who has been called-up for Wales by boss Chris Coleman.

The City Academy graduate replaces Newcastle United's Paul Dummett in the Welsh squad to face Bosnia & Herzegovina and Cyprus, joining Bluebirds team-mate Danny Gabbidon in Chris Coleman's selection. Wales face off against Bosnia & Herzegovina on Friday evening (7.45pm) at Cardiff City Stadium, before taking on Cyprus at our home ground on Monday night (7.45pm).

 

Midfielders Aron Gunnarsson, Anthony Pilkington and Mats Møller Dæhli have been given the opportunity of representing Iceland, Republic of Ireland and Norway respectively while there’s also call-ups for David Marshall with Scotland and Bruno Ecuele Manga for Gabon.

Mats Møller Dæhli was involved as Norway played England and Italy in the last international break, and will join up with his team-mates once more as they take visit Malta on Friday 10th October (7:45pm). Per-Mathias Høgmo’s Norway side then return to Oslo as Bulgaria visit the capital city on Mon 13th October (7:45pm).

Fellow midfielder and Iceland captain Gunnarsson will lead his country out against Latvia in Riga on Friday evening (7:45pm). The ‘Iceman’ and his fellow countrymen will have to put on a fine performance if they are to get anything from their second international fixture as the Netherlands visit Reykjavik on Monday night (7:45pm).

Bruno Ecuele Manga and Gabon have a double headed African Cup of Nations qualifier to contend with over the international break. Burkina Faso will visit Libreville on Saturday before hosting the return match in Ouagadougou on Wednesday. Les Étalons triumphed over Gabon the last time the two sides met, 1-0.

As confirmed earlier this week, goalkeeper David Marshall has been called-up to the Scotland squad for their European Championship qualifiers against Georgia and Poland. Marshall was unfortunate to be on the losing team as Scotland almost earned a point against World Champions Germany last time out, and Marshall will be hoping for two clean sheets to aid the Scot’s ambitions of playing in a national tournament once more.

Also in Group D action, Anthony Pilkington and the Republic of Ireland will host Gibraltar on Saturday evening (5:00pm), and are currently level on points with Poland and Germany at the top of the table. The Gibraltar result could be essential for Martin O’Neill’s side as they head to Stadium Gelsenkirchen to face 2014 World Cup winners Germany on Tuesday night (7:45pm).

Currently out on loan with Celtic and Ross County respectively, Jo Inge Berget and Filip Kiss are also set to represent their national teams in the coming days. Berget is likely to be included in Norway’s U23 side as they host Ukraine at the Avreise Stadium on Tuesday night (7.00pm). Kiss has currently earned four caps for Slovakia, and could add to this tally as they host Spain on Thursday (7:45pm). Slovakia will then make the short journey to Belarus on Sunday (7:45pm) for their third UEFA European Championship qualifying match.

Finally, forward Kenwyne Jones will lead the line for Trinidad & Tobago as they take on the Dominican Republic and St Lucia in the second round of the Caribbean Cup. The final stage of the Caribbean Cup will take place over a seven day period during November’s international break, and is set to be hosted by Jamaica. The eventual winners of the cup will represent the Caribbean at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

All players will return from international duty ahead of City’s home match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, 18th October.

We wish all our players the best of luck while away on international duty. We shall be keeping a close eye on their progress via our official Facebook and Twitter channels.