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International Round-Up
Wednesday, 19th Nov 2025 10:44 by Kallum Brisset

Another busy international break has passed with five of Town’s first-team players involved. Here is the round-up of all the November action.

Once again, Sindre Walle Egeli starred for Norway’s U21s by playing a part in all four goals the Norwegian youngsters scored across their most recent pair of victories.

Town’s teenage forward scored and won two penalties for his side in Friday’s 3-0 win over Israel on neutral turf in Hungary.

Walle Egeli, the Championship’s record signing, followed that performance up on Tuesday by netting his fifth goal at U21 level to decide Norway’s 1-0 victory away to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

The young Norwegians continued their 100 per cent record in the early stages of qualifying for the European Championships with a trio of clean sheets.

Blues forward Walle Egeli has been capped once at senior level and recently stated his ambition of playing at next summer’s World Cup, in which his nation qualified for this week. The 19-year-old has now been capped 10 times for the U21s.

George Hirst was away with Scotland as they dramatically secured their spot at a first World Cup since 1998 with a stunning victory over Denmark on Tuesday evening.

Needing a win to qualify directly for next summer’s tournament ahead of their opponents, the Tartan Army scored twice in stoppage time to defeat the Danes 4-2 at Hampden Park.

Hirst watched on as an unused substitute, but he did make it onto the field as a late replacement in the 3-2 loss against Greece in Piraeus on Saturday.

That appearance was the Blues striker’s sixth as a senior international.


Town’s contingent of Republic of Ireland internationals kept World Cup dreams of their own alive in similarly spectacular fashion with two crucial victories.

The Boys in Green defeated Portugal 2-0 in Dublin on Thursday, in which Blues captain Dara O’Shea assisted former Town loanee Troy Parrott’s second goal.

O’Shea was also elbowed by Cristiano Ronaldo, which led to the Portugal legend’s second-half sending off.

That victory was followed by a stunning 3-2 win against Hungary on Sunday where Parrott struck a hat-trick to secure the Irish a play-off place.

Having trailed twice, the Irish comeback was complete with a 96th-minute winner in Budapest to earn a 3-2 victory that kept hopes of a first World Cup since 2002 alive.

O’Shea started both matches to take his total number of caps to 41, while in-form midfielder Jack Taylor came off the bench in Hungary for his 10th cap after starting against Portugal three days earlier.

Chiedozie Ogbene, who is currently on loan at Sheffield United, also started both but pulled up with a hamstring injury just after the break in the second, with the winger now up to 30 caps for his country.

Summer signing Kasey McAteer was not named in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s squad, while Town teammate Sammie Szmodics was absent following recent knee surgery.

Summer signing Marcelino Núñez was away in the Russian city of Sochi for two friendlies with Chile, picking up his 33rd cap in the process.

The midfielder was not used in Saturday’s 2-0 victory against hosts Russia, but played 63 minutes from the start during the 2-1 win over Peru on Tuesday.

Ali Al-Hamadi returned to the international scene with Iraq and struck his fourth international goal in Thursday’s 1-1 draw with the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi.

The striker, who is on loan for the season at League One side Luton Town, earned his 16th cap but a muscle injury ruled him out of the second leg in Basra, in which his nation came from behind to win 2-1 and progress to the final stage of World Cup qualifying.

On-loan goalkeeper Aro Muric added a 48th cap for Kosovo in Tuesday’s 1-1 home draw with Switzerland in World Cup qualifying.

That result means Kosovo will compete in the play-offs in March, having also won in Slovenia during the break in a game in which Muric, currently with Sassuolo for the season, was suspended.

Academy left-back Somto Boniface earned his second cap for England’s U20s during Friday’s 1-1 friendly draw with Japan.

The 19-year-old, who has been a standout for the table-topping Blues in Premier League 2 this season, came on as a late substitute for the Young Lions in Doncaster.

Fellow youth prospect Oliver Wilkinson was involved for England’s U17s and started two of their three friendlies in Dubai.

After making his maiden appearance at that level in the 5-2 victory over the United States on Thursday, Town’s recent signing from Barnsley added a second cap in a 1-1 draw with Australia on Tuesday afternoon.

Blues duo Woody Williamson and Ryan Carr were both drafted into the Scotland U21s squad for the first time this week.

Carr had never previously earned international honours and won his first two caps at the level as a substitute in Scotland’s wins in Gibraltar, 2-0, and at home to Bulgaria, 1-0.

Williamson, previously capped at other youth levels, did not feature in either match, where the Scottish youngsters kept themselves well in the hunt for qualifying for the European Championship.

Josh Pitts was the other Town academy man to earn honours, taking his number of caps for Malta’s U21s to five.

His nation continued to struggle with another two defeats, the forward coming on as a substitute in the 6-0 thrashing to Germany before starting the 1-0 loss against Latvia.


Photo: Andrew Surma/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect



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bobble added 10:51 - Nov 19
Shouldnt be playing friendlies with russia ,as they are very unfriendly lately...
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DifferentGravy added 15:40 - Nov 19
Well done to Walle Egeli. A quality signing and will get better and better. Can completely understand why he wants to play further inside as opposed to out on the wing.
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