INTERNATIONAL CALL-UPS

A cavalcade of United players are setting off on their travels this week having been chosen to represent their respective countries on the international stage at full, under 21, under 19, under 17 and under 16 level.  A total of 13 players will join up with their national squads as our players catch the eye with continued good performances.

Last Saturday’s scorer Immi Niskanen will return to his native Finland for their match against Ukraine at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium at 5pm on Saturday followed by a trip to Nur–Sultan where his side takes on Kazakhstan on Tuesday in the Astana Arena at 3pm.

Keeper Trevor Carson was set to travel to Geneva as Northern Ireland play Switzerland in the Stade de Genève on Saturday (7.45pm) and subsequently to Sofia for their Group C qualifier v Bulgaria on 12 October. Sadly he had to pull out through injury at the last moment. Meanwhile, Dylan Levitt will be part of the Wales squad as they meet the Czech Republic in Prague on Friday (7.45pm) and then Estonia in Tallinn on Monday 11 October (7.45pm). 

On under 21 level, Flo Hoti will join the Kosovo squad as they host the Czech Republic at the Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri in Pristina on Thursday night (7.45pm) to play the same side away on the following Tuesday in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. 

Whilst the under 19s UEFA European Championship qualifiers start on Wednesday, Scotland will not play until the second week of November when Croatia hosts Group 11 which also includes also Armenia and Gibraltar. Academy Graduates Chris Mochrie and Kerr Smith are set to be involved in warm up games over the coming days. 

At under 17 level, Academy Graduates Lewis O’Donnell, Craig Moore, Stuart Heenan, Jamie McCabe, Bryan Mwangi and Arron Donald have all been named for Scotland’s training camp this week.

Finally, Scotland under 16s Manager Stuart McLaren has named Rory MacLeod as part of his squad for the 2021 Victory Shield to be hosted in Northern Ireland. Scotland, who will be aiming to retain the Victory Shield after a successful tournament in 2019, will play against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, 17 October (3pm), Northern Ireland on Tuesday, 19 October (3pm), and Wales on Tuesday 22 October (11am), all matches taking place at H&W Welders, Belfast. 

A delighted Sporting Director Tony Asghar said, “Being selected to represent your country is always a great moment for players but it is also a proud moment for the Club to have so many of our players representing their country at the various levels. This is testament to the hard work and performance put in by them and the staff who are here to support the players.

“It is also pleasing that a few of the players have reignited their international careers after joining the Club and that says a lot about us and the quality of our work. At Dundee United we will continually develop the players and staff and put in place the resources to give them the best opportunity to maximise their career and the number of players called up should be enjoyed by everyone at Tannadice and the HPC at the University of St Andrews collectively.”