Newcastle United dealt fresh illness concern as £15m signing makes rare start — international round-up
While the majority of Newcastle United’s squad has been in Dubai this week, a number of players have linked up with their international teams.
Kieran Trippier and Nick Pope were called up to England duty for Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine but Pope was forced to withdraw due to a slight injury.
Alexander Isak was selected by Sweden for the first time since September, while Sven Botman received a first senior call up from the Netherlands after Ronald Koeman replaced Louis van Gal as manager.
Meanwhile, the likes of Martin Dubravka and Jamal Lewis were selected for their respective nations. Garang Kuol, on loan at Hearts, was back with the Australia squad following their World Cup campaign.
NewcastleWorld rounds up how each player has fared on international duty so far:
1. Nick Pope - England
Pope played no part in England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine after withdrawing from the squad with an unspecified injury.
2. Alexander Isak - Sweden
Isak played 73 minutes in Sweden’s 3-0 home loss to Belgium, and played a similar amount in the 5-0 win over Azerbaijan, where Isak had a goal ruled out for offside and provided an assists.
3. Kieran Trippier - England
Trippier was an 81st minute substitute in England’s 2-1 win in Italy but wasn’t required against Ukraine, which ended in a 2-1 win at Wembley.
4. Martin Dubravka - Slovakia
Dubravka kept back-to-back clean sheets, firstly a goalless draw against Luxembourg, and then a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo: Stu Forster