BLACKBURN FORWARD SAMMIE Szmodics has earned a belated call-up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar.
He is included in place of Aaron Connolly, who has withdrawn because of injury.
Szmodics is the Championship’s top scorer, netting his seventh league goal of the season in Blackburn’s 4-0 win over QPR on Saturday. He was left out of the initial squad, with Stephen Kenny explaining Callum Robinson was preferred in the name of continuity. Connolly’s withdrawal, however, has left the door open for Szmodics, who has yet to be capped for Ireland.
Szmodics declared for Ireland back in 2021, through ancestry from Longford. A shoulder injury ruled him out of friendly action that summer, while his international clearance to play competitively for Ireland did not come through until this year.
There are no other reported issues in the Irish camp, which assembled at Castleknock Hotel earlier today. Ireland play Greece on Friday followed by a game against Gibraltar next Monday in the Algarve, with the Gibraltar stadium undergoing construction.
