Ipswich Town: September 2024 international break summary

A spectacular volley by Chiedozie Ogbene against Greece was disallowed for offside (Image: PA)

Sammie Szmodics, Chiedozie Ogbene and Dara O’Shea – Republic of Ireland

For the first time in a long time, Ipswich have female players in the Republic of Ireland senior squad. All three arrived at Portman Road in the summer, with Sammie Szmodics, Chiedozie Ogbene and Dara O’Shea all named in the team.

They began with a tough test against arch-rivals England in Nations League B, the first competitive match between the two sides since 1991. The Town trio started and played the full 90 minutes but were well beaten by the Three Lions. Former Ireland youth internationals Declan Rice and Jack Grealish both scored first-half goals to give Lee Carsley’s side the win in Dublin.

The result put pressure on the team’s next game, at home to Greece. Once again, all three Ipswich players started, with Ogbene and Szmodics playing 84 minutes while O’Shea got the full 90 minutes.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side started well and thought they were taking the lead when Ogbene’s spectacular volley from outside the box whizzed into the top corner, but he was penalised for a narrow offside. In the second half, Fotis Ioannidis – who was linked with a move to Suffolk in the summer – put the visitors ahead with a spectacular shot and former Norwich City winger Christos Tzolis sealed the points just before the end.

The Boys in Green are third in Group B, with only Finland better than the Finns they face in their first match of the October international break. They need a positive result in Helsinki to have a good chance of avoiding relegation to Nations League C.

Arijanet Muric was excluded from Kosovo’s squad (Image: Ross Halls)

Arijanet Muric – Kosovo

It has been a turbulent few weeks for goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, who made a difficult return to his former club Manchester City last month, making two errors in the 4-1 defeat at Ipswich. He showed marked improvement against Fulham the following week and subsequently went on to join the national team.

He played for Kosovo in the Nations League C against Romania, which lost 3-0 in Pristina. Fans were visibly upset after the match. The Kosovo Football Association subsequently released a statement saying that Muric was one of three players sent home for “violations of national team rules”, along with Edon Zhegrova and Florent Muslija.

Photos were circulated on social media claiming that Muric was spotted at a nightclub after curfew. The 25-year-old responded that the reaction was “not fair at all” and posted a photo on Instagram of himself watching Kosovo’s 4-0 win over Cyprus on his phone.

They are currently second in their group behind Romania and ahead of Cyprus. It remains to be seen whether Muric will return to the team next month.

Liam Delap started in attack for England’s U21 national team in the match against Austria (Image: PA)

Liam Delap – England U21

Liam Delap was due to play for England’s U21 team alongside Town teammate Omari Hutchinson, but the former Chelsea striker withdrew due to a “medical examination”.

Delap started on the bench for the opening game against Northern Ireland in the U21 European qualifiers, coming on as a substitute for the final 30 minutes. He had a chance to win the game just before the end, but it ended goalless in Ballymena.

The striker started the friendly against Austria at Kenilworth Road in Luton and thought he had done enough to win a penalty after just 15 seconds, but instead received a yellow card for simulation.

A brace from Morgan Rogers and goals from James McAtee and Tom Fellows gave the Young Lions a 4-1 win. Delap has now made his seventh international appearance for the U21s.

Ben Futcher’s side currently lie second in Group F, five points behind leaders Ukraine, who they host at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium next month. If they do not finish first, they will have to go through the play-offs to reach next summer’s tournament in Slovakia.

Jens Cajuste came off the bench twice as Sweden defeated Azerbaijan and Estonia (Image: Ross Halls)

Jens Cajuste – Sweden

Midfielder Jens Cajuste joined Sweden for the start of Nations League C, playing 18 minutes as a substitute against Azerbaijan in Baku as his side won 3-1 thanks to a brace from Alexander Isak and a penalty from Viktor Gyokeres.

A few days later they returned home to face Estonia in Solna, with Cajuste again starting on the bench. This time he played 27 minutes and tested Karl Hein with a powerful shot as his side won 3-0. This time Isak scored once, while Gyokeres scored twice.

The wins put Sweden top of their group on goal difference, ahead of Slovakia, who they face away next month. Cajuste has now won 25 caps at senior level.

Axel Tuanzebe is a regular player for the Democratic Republic of Congo (Image: PA)

Axel Tuanzebe – Democratic Republic of Congo

Axel Tuanzebe started both of DR Congo’s matches as the team began its AFCON qualifiers.

He played the full 90 minutes against Guinea in Kinshasa, while Watford midfielder Edo Kayembe, reportedly a summer transfer from Ipswich, scored a spectacular long-range goal to secure all three points.

Tuanzebe then played the entire away match against Ethiopia, which Sebastien Desabre’s side won 2-0 thanks to second-half goals from substitutes Theo Bongonda and Meschack Elia.

The Democratic Republic of Congo currently sit six points clear at the top of Group H ahead of their next two matches against Tanzania. Tuanzebe has now made three appearances for the Leopards after making his debut in June.

Cameron Burgess started for Australia against Indonesia (Image: Ross Halls)

Cameron Burgess – Australia

Cameron Burgess returned to Australia’s squad for the AFC World Cup qualifiers. The Socceroos cruised through the second round with ease, winning all six of their matches, but things got much tougher in the third round.

Burgess was an unused substitute in the first game when Sheffield United’s Harry Souttar scored an own goal in the closing stages to give Bahrain three points for a shock defeat on the Gold Coast.

The centre-back was called up for the second game in Indonesia, which was without fellow Ipswich defender Elkan Baggott, who was recovering from an injury sustained while on loan at Blackpool. Burgess played the full 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet, but Graham Arnold’s side could not find a way through and the game ended 0-0.

The 28-year-old has now made ten senior appearances for Australia, who sit fifth in their group ahead of next month’s matches (home to China and away to Japan).

Iraqi fans showed their support for Ali Al-Hamadi in Basra (Image: Ross Halls)

Ali Al-Hamadi – Iraq

Ali Al-Hamadi returned to the Iraqi national team for the AFC World Cup qualifiers after, like Burgess’ Australia, topping his group with six wins in the second round.

Unlike the Socceroos, they started the third round well, beating Oman 1-0 in Basra thanks to a first-half goal from Ayman Hussein. Al-Hamadi was on the bench and played the final six minutes of normal time. As he warmed up on the sidelines, the more than 63,000 fans began to chant his name loudly – a special moment.

The striker was soon in the starting line-up for the trip to Kuwait, but the game turned early on when defender Rebin Sulaka was shown the red card following a VAR review. Although Iraq had the better chances for the most part, Al-Hamadi – who has now won 14 caps for his country – was substituted at half-time and the game ended goalless.

With four points from the first two games, Jesús Casas’ team is currently in third place in Group B ahead of the games against Palestine and South Korea.

Cieran Slicker made several impressive saves against the Spanish U21 national team (Image: PA)

Cieran Slicker – Scotland U21

Scotland’s U21 team continued their European Under-21 qualification campaign, continuing to fight for a place in Group B with incredibly good performances. Tynecastle in Edinburgh faced a difficult test against Spain, with the visitors’ squad boasting a number of talented young players.

Cieran Slicker started as goalkeeper and knew he was in for a tough night in the Scottish capital. It took a while for Spain to break through their opponents, but just before the 60th minute AFC Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen opened the scoring for the Spanish side.

Former Bristol City striker Adedire Mebude came off the bench to hit back soon after, with Slicker making a series of heroic saves to keep the game level before Leeds United’s Mateo Joseph scored the winner in the 69th minute.

Scotland needed a positive result in their next away game in Malta and that’s exactly what they got. An early own goal from Matthew Elul was followed by strikes from Dane Murray, Josh Mulligan, Lennon Miller and Lewis Neilson to give Scot Gemmill’s side a 5-0 win, while Slicker conceded.

They still sit second in the group on goal difference, with a crucial match against Belgium next month to secure a place in the play-offs. Slicker has now played 19 times for the U21s, wearing the captain’s armband in both games this month.