International Bluebirds | June Round-Up

Eight Bluebirds were in action for their respective nations during the June window...

Harris and Colwill feature for World Cup-bound Wales

Mark Harris and Rubin Colwill both featured for the Welsh national side during their five June fixtures.

Sparky played the second 45 minutes in Wales' 2-1 defeat to Poland on June 1st, whilst Rubin earned two caps, coming off the bench at Cardiff City Stadium during UEFA Nations League matches against Netherlands and Belgium.

With fellow Bluebird Ollie Denham also in the senior squad, Rob Page's men secured their place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, defeating Ukraine 1-0 at CCS on June 5th to end a 64-year wait.

Whyte makes four appearances for Northern Ireland

Gavin Whyte featured in all four of Northern Ireland's UEFA Nations League matches during the June window, taking his tally of international caps to 27.

The 26-year-old started the 1-0 defeat to Greece at Windsor Park, as well as a 0-0 draw away to Cyprus three days later.

Whyte was then introduced from the bench during the Green and White Army's final two fixtures, a 3-2 defeat to Kosovo and a 2-2 home draw with Cyprus.

Northern Ireland's June results leaves them third in League C Group 2, with two matches to play in September.

King and Connolly impress for Wales U21

Young Bluebirds Eli King and James Connolly both made appearances for Paul Bodin's Wales U21 side during their two final UEFA U21 EURO 2023 Qualifying matches.

Midfielder King started both fixtures, playing the full 90 in Wales' narrow 1-0 loss to the Netherlands, before gaining another 67 minutes of international experience in a 2-0 victory over Gibraltar three days later.

Defender Connolly rounded off his Wales U21 debut with a clean sheet, starting the Young Dragons' match against Gibraltar at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli.

McGuinness and Bagan reach U21 EURO Play-Off

Defenders Mark McGuinness and Joel Bagan helped the Republic of Ireland U21 team reach their first-ever UEFA U21 EURO Play-Off match, which will take place in September.

Crucial victories over Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro helped Ireland secure a Play-Off spot, giving them a shot at reaching the tournament finals next year.

Central defender McGuinness played the full 90 in both matches, as well as a 4-1 loss to group winners Italy, with Bagan featuring against both Bosnia and Italy.