With no fixtures until the 20th of November for the Imps, four of their players will be looking to gain valuable minutes for their national youth sides.
Josh Griffiths once again makes the England under 21s, whilst Lewis Fiorini and goalkeeper, Archie Mair have been selected for Scotland under 21s by Scott Gemmill, and Sean Roughan has been called up to Republic of Irelands under 19 side for the first time.
20-year-old goalkeeper Josh Griffiths has made a positive impression for Lincoln since joining on loan from championship side West Bromwich Albion in July showing maturity between the sticks. He received his first call up to the Three Lions under 18s side in 2019, making one appearance against Mexico, and was involved in the squad at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
He will be hoping he can make his debut for former Everton midfielder Lee Carsley’s side, who have a crucial UEFA Euro 2023 U21 qualifying match against Czech Republic at Turf Moor on Thursday 11 November. The Czech’s are currently leading the way with four wins out of four, five points ahead of England who sit in third place. The Three Lions then travel to Batumi for a friendly against Georgia on Tuesday 16 November.
Picture: Chris Vaughan Photography for Lincoln City FC
Date: July 24, 2021
Griffiths is part of a strong looking England squad, including several Premier League players such as Southampton’s Tino Livramento and Crystal Palace pair, Marc Guehi and the inform Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher.
Scottish fans will be looking towards Friday night, when the men’s team can make history with a win against Moldova, which would secure a play-off spot for the Qatar World Cup. In terms of Scottish youth football, Imps pair Fiorini and Mair are included in the under 21 side who face up with Kazakhstan and Belgium.
Photo credit: Chris Vaughan – Lincoln City Football Club
The under 21s however, have not been able to replicate the form of the men’s side with one point from their first two games but have faced tough tests drawing 1-1 away in Turkey before a 1-0 loss to Denmark. 19-year-old Lewis Fiorini has two caps for the Tartan Army at under 21 level, whilst Archie Mair is looking to make his debut in two important fixtures if the side want to qualify for the 2023 European Championships joint hosted by Romania and Georgia.
The 4th City player who has been called up by his country is Sean Roughan. The versatile 18-year-old defender broke into the Lincoln first team last season aged just 17, playing six games at the start of the campaign. Injuries have reduced Roughan’s first team minutes however, but he returned on Saturday with a start in the 1-0 FA Cup win against Bowers & Pitsea.
Photo credit: Richard Davies – Lincoln City Football Club
The defender, who can play anywhere across the back line has been called up to the Republic of Ireland under 19s squad for the first time, for their fixtures against Montenegro on Wednesday November 10, Bosnia & Herzegovina on Saturday November 13, and their final Euro qualifier on November 16th against Bulgaria. Coach Tom Mohan has had to wait two years for a return to international fixtures due to the pandemic.
With the Imps having a two week break of fixtures before the short trip to struggling Doncaster Rovers on November 20, the potential for four of his players to gain valuable minutes at international level will be a positive for Michael Appleton.