Caleb Yirenkyi in action for Ghana
Coventry City's Caleb Yirenkyi has been in action for Ghana
Coventry City’s internationals have had mixed fortunes over the first couple of weeks of their respective competitive camps with their countries.
The Sky Blues currently have 11 players away from Ryton and all have played match minutes while their club mates top up their training back home as head coach Frank Lampard begins preparations for the return to Premier League action against Newcastle United on Monday, October 12.
Here’s a round-up of how City’s globe trotters have got on, including facing Cristiano Ronaldo in what may have been his last ever game for Portugal, disquiet in the Ghana camp with calls for the manager to quit, another being handed the honour of captaining his country and goals for Yann Gboho and forgotten man Norman Bassette.
Jay Dasilva: City’s history-making match winner is away with Wales for four Nations League games. The left-back played the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Portugal which may well have been Cristiano Ronaldo’s final game for his country. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has since quit the international camp after being an unused sub in a 2-1 win against Norway at the weekend.
Dasilva, meanwhile, was an unused sub at the weekend when Wales lost 2-0 to Denmark. Craig Bellamy’s side host Norway this evening (Oct 1) and then play Denmark again on Sunday.
Kai Andrews: The midfielder, who is currently on loan at Oxford United, is away with Wales Under-21s for their Euro qualifiers. The 20-year-old captained his country in a 1-0 defeat to Belgium at the weekend when Sky Blues’ club mate Norman Bassette scored the winning goal in Westerlo - where Bassette is currently on loan. Andrews is due to face Austria next (Oct 6).
Taiwo Awoniyi and Frank Onyeka: City’s experienced duo are away with Nigeria for AFCON qualifiers. Striker Awoniyi, who has sat out the last two City games due to suspension and will serve his third match ban against Newcastle after the international break, went on as a 69th minute sub in the 2-1 victory over Madagascar last Friday (Sept 25) when Onyeka was an unused sub. Both Sky Blues stars, however, started in the 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday (Sept 29) when both were substituted at half-time with the scoreline at 1-0. Their final match is a friendly against Russia (Oct 6).
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The Super Eagles now need to win all four of their remaining qualifiers to stand any chance of making the finals next year.
Caleb Yirenkyi and Brandon Thomas-Asante: BTA was a late call-up, having initially been left out of Ghana’s selection for African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. Both started in the 2-0 defeat to Ivory Coast last week when Yirenkyi played the full 90 minutes and Thomas-Asante was replaced just after the hour. They each started again in a 4-2 defeat to Gambia in which the Black Stars gave up a 2-0 lead, resulting in calls for manager Carlo Queiroz to quit. Yirenkyi again played the full game while Thomas-Asante was taken off at half time with the score at 2-2. Next up is Morocco (Oct 4).
Joel Latibeaudiere: The defender is away with Jamaica for the Concacaf Nations League games. He has found game time hard to come by with City so far this season but played the full 90 minutes at centre-half in a 3-2 win over Guatemala (Sept 26) and again played the whole game in a 1-0 defeat to Honduras (Sept 29). He’s due to face El Salvador on Saturday (Oct 3).
Stephen Mfuni: Coventry ’s Man City loan player is away with Lee Carsley’s England Under-21s and played the full 90 minutes of a 4-2 victory over Kazakhstan last week (Sept 25) when he was deployed at left-back. He’s due to face Slovakia on Friday (Oct 2) and Ireland (Oct 6) in UEFA European Championship qualifiers.
Yann Gboho: The French-born winger is representing Ivory Coast in AFCON qualifiers and was an unused sub in the 2-0 victory over City club mates Yirenkyi and Thomas-Asante’s Ghana. The Sky Blues summer signing then stepped off the bench in the 83rd minute against Somalia on Tuesday and scored in the 89th to spark the late 2-0 win which saw his side grab a second in stoppage time. Ivory Coast’s final match is a friendly against Cameroon (Oct 3).
Liam Kitching: The defender - currently on loan at Sheffield United - has started his international career, having been called up by Ireland and making his debut in a 3-0 win against Israel on Sunday in the UEFA Nations League. Irish head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson has said the defender would have been part of his plans sooner had he received the relevant documentation confirming his eligibility to play for the country.
Having been an unused substitute in last Thursday’s 1-0 defeat to Kosovo, Kitch - who qualifies to represent the country through his Kildare-born grandmother - started on the left of a back three and completed the full 90 minutes against Israel. Next up is Austria (Oct 1) and Israel again (Oct 4).
Norman Bassette: And finally, striker Bassette, who is on loan at KVC Westerloin Belgium, is away with Belgium Under-21s who face Belarus, Wales and Denmark, and scored against Wales.
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Coventry City writer Andy Turner
Coventry City writer Andy Turner
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