With the resumption of the Sky Bet Championship schedule on the horizon, catch up on the progress of our international stars who play their final round of fixtures this evening before Good Friday’s clash with Cardiff City.
Trai Hume and Dan Ballard – Northern Ireland
Hume clocked up his 11th cap last Friday night in a friendly tie against Romania. Showing his versatility, the 22-year-old was deployed as part of a back three in a side that battled their way to a 1-1 draw in Bucharest.
Ballard was absent from the game but has resumed training with the squad in the last few days. The pair are set to feature once again on Tuesday evening when they go north of the border to face Scotland at Hampden Park.
Result: Romania 1-1 Northern Ireland
Fixture: Scotland vs Northern Ireland (Tuesday 26 March, 7.45pm KO)
What a photo 😁📸🟢⚪️ #GAWA pic.twitter.com/Q2FLKIhCIz
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) March 21, 2024
Callum Styles – Hungary
Marco Rossi’s side kept up their electric form ahead of the European Championships.
Styles was used as a second half substitute playing the final 30 minutes of their 1-0 friendly win over Turkey which stretched their unbeaten run to 13 matches. Liverpool midfielder Dominic Szoboszlai scored the decisive spotkick.
Their final game before the close of the international break sees them host Kosovo in Budapest with Styles hoping to add to his 19 caps.
On duty 🇭🇺🫡
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) March 25, 2024
📸 CS28#SAFC | @MLSZhivatalos pic.twitter.com/yBX7jMVR8b
Result: Hungary 1-0 Turkey
Fixture: Hungary vs Kosovo (Tuesday 26 March, 6pm KO)
Leo Hjelde – Norway Under 21s
Adding to his 15 caps at Under-21 level, Hjelde was a second half substitute as Norway beat The Netherlands 2-1 last Thursday. The defender was thrown on at half-time to help his country swing the result back in their favour with Andreas Schjelderup scoring the winner.
He’ll be hoping to add more international experience when they come up against San Marino’s youth side.
Result: Netherlands U21s 1-2 Norway U21s
Fixture: Norway U21s vs San Marino U21s (Tuesday 26 March, 4pm KO)
Matthew Young – England Under 18s
In a successful campaign for the Under-18s, Young was part of a squad that helped lift the Pinatar Cup in Spain.
The Young Lions won all three games against Czechia, Germany (on penalties) and The Netherlands. Young was handed his second cap starting and playing the full 90 minutes of their crucial win over Holland.
Finishing 2-1 on the day, Young will head back to Darlington after a successful international spell in Murcia.
Result: England U18s 2-1 Czechia U18s
Result: England U18s 0-0 Germany U18s (5-3 on penalties)
Result: England U18s 2-1 The Netherlands U18s
Chris Rigg – England Under 17s
After a recent flurry of appearances in the Sunderland first-team, Rigg continued to run along the same trend with the Young Lions.
Leading the side out as captain, Rigg played 90 minutes in two games running out 5-1 winners against Northern Ireland Under-17s and 5-0 victors against Hungary Under-17s, where he scored the second goal of the game.
Another strong performance by our U17 #YoungLions yesterday 🙌
— England (@England) March 24, 2024
The chance to add to his 11 appearances for the U17s comes again on Tuesday evening when they welcome France to St George’s Park.
Result: England U17s 5-1 Northern Ireland U17s
Result: England U17s 5-0 Hungary
Fixture: England U17s vs France U17s (Tuesday 26 March, 7pm)
Timur Tutierov – Ukraine Under 19s
Adding to his three caps at youth level, Tuteriov played his part in important wins over North Macedonia and Latvia in U19 European Championship qualifying.
Tutierov scored the third and final goal of the game against Latvia.
International watch... ✈️
— SAFC Academy (@AcademyOfLight) March 25, 2024
🇺🇦 Timur Tutierov was on the scoresheet for the Ukraine U19s in their 3-0 victory over Latvia on Saturday!#SAFC pic.twitter.com/mL0AzRf6BV
There will be one more qualifying match on Tuesday afternoon against Switzerland Under 19s.
Result: North Macedonia U19s 0-2 Ukraine U19s
Result: Ukraine U19s 3-0 Latvia U19s
Fixture: Ukraine U19s vs Switzerland U19s (Tuesday 26 March, 2pm)