
Ten Hibs players called up for international duty
Kieron Bowie has earned his first call-up to the Scotland National Team after demonstrating excellent form since he battled back from a hamstring injury which caused him to miss a large part of the 2024/25 campaign.
Bowie has scored five times for Hibs since February and will now join up with Steve Clarke's senior squad for the first time in his career.
Scotland host Iceland at Hampden on Friday 6 June before travelling to Liechtenstein on Monday 9 June.
There are four Hibs players in Tony Popovic's 23-player squad for their upcoming training camp in Abu Dhabi.
Martin Boyle and Lewis Miller have both been capped numerous times by the Socceroos', whilst Nectar Triantis is included for the second time in his career.
Jack Iredale has received his first call-up to the national side – after an incredible first season with the Hibees!
The final squad will be announced in the week leading up to Australia's two games against Japan and Saudi Arabia on 5 June and 11 June.
Jordan Obita has earned his first call-up to the Uganda National team!
The 31-year-old defender represented England at age group level, featuring at Under 18s, Under 19s and Under 21s – but never made a senior cap.
He also qualifies to play for Uganda and will now join up with the squad for their upcoming international friendlies against Cameroon (6 June) and The Gambia (9 June).
Rocky Bushiri has earned another call-up to the DR Congo squad for their upcoming friendlies against Mali (5 June) and Madagascar (8 June).
Rocky made his debut for DR Congo in January 2024, before making his competitive debut earlier this year – keeping a clean sheet against South Sudan in a World Cup qualifier in March.
Central midfielder Alasana Manneh can add to his 19 caps for The Gambia over the next few weeks.
The Gambia take on Equatorial Guinea (6 June) before hosting Uganda (9 June), where Manneh could face up against Jordan Obita.
Nathan Moriah-Welsh has received another call up to represent Guyana for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers double-header.
Guyana have important games against Nicaragua (7 June) and Montserrat (11 June) in Group D of their World Cup CONCACAF qualifiers.
The Golden Jaguars currently sit third in the group with three points after two games.
Junior Hoilett has been named in Canada's preliminary 60-man squad ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup which takes place next month.
Hoilett has 65 caps to date during his decorated career which has seen him represent Canada multiple times in the Gold Cup and the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
Jesse Marsch will name his final tournament squad of between 23-26 players by early June.
Like this:
Like
Related
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Liverpool transfer got green light after boss' secret meeting left target with no choice
Alexis Mac Allister has opened up on the moment he knew he was meant to join Liverpool after a secret meeting with Jurgen Klopp, whose efforts tipped the scales for the £35m transfer Alexis Mac Allister spoke with Jurgen Klopp in a top-secret "James Bond-like" meeting before deciding to join Liverpool. Mac Allister recalled feeling 'shocked' by Klopp's efforts to sign him, with the German travelling halfway from Liverpool to Brighton to meet him. Mac Allister, who joined the south-coast side in 2019, was loaned back to Argentina for two seasons before playing a bigger role at the Amex from the 2020/21 season onwards. He became a key first-team player, before the 2022 Qatar World Cup shot him to fame. The 26-year-old's performances drew attention from several big clubs as he returned to England as a world champion. Shortly after, Liverpool were in pursuit of the former Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors sensation. They eventually snapped him up in the summer of 2023 for an initial £35million, potentially rising to £55m. The Argentine international has now revealed how the transfer unfolded, with then-Reds boss Klopp going the extra mile to secure his signature in an effort to revamp his ageing midfield. Writing in The Players' Tribune, Mac Allister recently said: 'At the end of that season, Jurgen Klopp came to see me. Actually, it was a bit of a James Bond situation. He flew down and we met in secret somewhere halfway to Brighton. 'I was a bit shocked that he did that for me. I had won a World Cup, but I was not a star at all. We had a coffee, and he explained to me that he really wanted me to come to Liverpool, because I reminded him a bit of Ilkay Gundogan, who he developed at Dortmund into one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world. 'It's so funny, because when I was young, my dad would always be screaming at me from the stands, 'Ale, to the box! To the box!' Every time our team crossed the halfway line, 'To the box! To the box!' I don't know, I suppose he saw in me the same thing that Jurgen saw, 'Don't be cute! Box to box!'' He went on to add: 'From that moment I spoke to Jurgen, I knew I was meant to come to Liverpool. It wasn't so much what he said, but what he conveyed as a person. It was a great conversation, and that was the beginning of a spectacular relationship. 'But everything takes time. The club had basically turned over the entire midfield. An iconic group that had won everything. When me, Dom [Dominik Szoboszlai], Ryan [Gravenberch] and [Wataru] Endo came in, it took us a minute to be comfortable playing our way, you know? 'That [previous] midfield was very heavy metal. We were different players. A bit less direct. We like to play. But when you have players like Mo [Salah] and Lucho [Luis Diaz] and Cody [Gakpo] up top, they want the ball yesterday. It took us some time to adapt.' Mac Allister's maiden campaign at Anfield saw him play 46 matches under Klopp, scoring seven goals. That included netting Liverpool's Goal of the Season during a thrilling 4-3 triumph over Fulham, though the Reds' season ended in underwhelming fashion as they missed out on the league title after winning the Carabao Cup. Unfortunately, it was also his only season under Klopp, as the Liverpool boss shocked the Reds' dressing room by announcing he would leave at the end of the 2023/24 campaign. But Mac Allister enjoyed an even more pivotal role the following year under successor Arne Slot, making 49 appearances in all competitions and scoring seven goals en route to the Premier League title.


The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Brazil aim to make waves at their first Women's Rugby World Cup
Sixteen. That is how many Tests Brazil's women's rugby team has played, just six more than England played in 2024 alone. The Yaras have recorded five wins but one of those was history-making: a first victory against Colombia last June that secured qualification for the Rugby World Cup. They will be the first South American country at the women's tournament and the first Brazil team, male or female, to compete in rugby's global showpiece. 'It is incredible,' says their captain, Eshyllen Coimbra. The remarkable story began in 2008 with their first international match. Brazil lost 10-0 to the Netherlands in what would be their sole fixture before an 11-year hiatus, mainly due to a lack of regional opponents. Brazil's union focused on women's sevens and rugby league before the 15s team was revived in 2019. One of the main reasons for doing so was the potential for World Cup qualification. For the 2021 tournament (staged in 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic) Brazil were beaten by Colombia in a qualifier, the victors going on to lose to Scotland in a playoff. However, for the expanded 2025 tournament, South America was granted a guaranteed qualification spot. That place was decided in a winner-takes-all encounter between Brazil and Colombia. Brazil came away with a convincing 34-13 victory in which Coimbra was one of the try-scorers. The captain was emotional when the full-time whistle blew, but World Cup qualification was not the first thing on her mind. 'It was a very unbelievable thing to win the game against Colombia because we had about six or seven losses before that game, it was the first time we won,' says Coimbra, who has a full-time player contract with Brazil and is also studying journalism. 'I wasn't thinking about the Rugby World Cup, it was the first win, and I couldn't believe it. 'I started to think about the World Cup the next day and I just thought: 'I cannot believe I am in the tournament.' I'm so glad we made it and it is incredible to achieve it.' The playoff was just the second win in the team's history, the first coming against Portugal in December 2023. Emiliano Caffera took charge just after the Portugal victory and the head coach, who is also in charge of the men's team, focused on developing the players' skills for the 15-a-side game, with many of the players transitioning from sevens. He says: 'All of the skills of sevens start the preparation for 15s. I had to work on the weaknesses which were the scrum, maul, defence and kicking game. We really focused there. The scrum-half, the No 10s, didn't have the knowledge of 15s, so we had to start from scratch … that was the key to start making that history that we didn't have.' Many of the squad also bring rugby league knowledge. One of the most experienced players is Edna Santini, who is poised to become the first player to appear at a Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Sevens World Series, Olympic Games and a Rugby League World Cup. The 33-year-old says: 'It is a very important personal milestone. Having the opportunity to play each tournament is really meaningful to me. To conquer everything with Brazil rugby, it's so important.' Santini and the rest of squad are keen to make it clear they are not at the 2025 tournament just to make up the numbers. They want to make an impact, while acknowledging the difficulty of their pool. Pool D contains South Africa, Italy and France, three opponents they have never played, all of whom will be favourites. Positive results may be difficult to come by so what will success look like? The message is clear throughout the squad. 'It is an opportunity to show the Brazilian way to play rugby,' Coimbra says. 'We want to do our best, without looking at results. We want to surprise people and make people see what Brazil rugby is about. Each game there are expectations to play the best rugby we can but the main goal is to show Brazilian rugby for the first time.' Santini says: 'Brazil being in the World Cup is new, we have high expectations in terms of doing our best, playing the hardest we can. We want to show we trained really hard to represent the Brazil rugby union in the best way we could.' Performance and pride in the shirt may be the main objectives but the best opportunity for a surprise win will be their opener against South Africa. While the Springboks have far more experience, Italy and France are both another step ahead. Caffera believes his side are capable of causing an upset. The 46-year-old, who played for Uruguay at the men's 2003 Rugby World Cup, says: 'For me it is the game that, if we do all good things and we have an amazing day, maybe we can do it. I don't think it'll happen against Italy or France. But with the weaknesses of South Africa and our strengths, maybe that can be the day.' Regardless of results, the coach believes the tournament will hugely benefit his squad. He explains the experience of playing Tier 1 nations will be significant but to continue to progress, they need more games. The creation of a South American tournament would be the answer for Caffera but he understands the challenges – nations such as Argentina and Chile do not have established women's teams. The coach adds: 'It's [about] playing with big countries and playing in big tournaments. At the moment we don't have that and we don't have that on the continent, it's going to be hard for us growing in the future without a 15s tournament. We really need a South American tournament to grow this team and grow the young players too. If we want to be a good team in the future we need to grow the young players and for me tournaments and games like that are key. 'WXV [World Rugby's annual global women's 15s competition] started some things but it is only one tournament for us. We don't have Six Nations, we don't have a strong club league, we don't have Super Rugby Americas for women, we need to send players to other clubs and countries. That is going to be the start because here we don't have anything. It is going to be really hard for World Rugby to give us more games. Players have to go to other countries like England, Italy, Spain, USA, New Zealand. We have good players, they need to play more.' Brazil will break new ground at this World Cup; the next challenge is ensuring it is not their last. Rachael Burford believes England can have a more powerful impact on body positivity if they win the Rugby World Cup than the Lionesses' Euros victory earlier this summer. Burford, the former England player who won the Rugby World Cup in 2014, adds the entire tournament will positively impact body image but the further the Red Roses go, the bigger their spotlight will be. She says: 'Having seen what the Lionesses have done and not taking anything away from them, it's about what is unique to our sport, which is that it is for any body. Every body type is needed in our game. 'You look to players like Sarah Bern who has spoken about how she struggled with her body image and now she is empowered by it. I think that could have such an impact on young girls' body image which in society is such a challenge for their self-esteem and self worth. Thinking they have to look a certain way. 'They have these powerful role models across all 16 teams where they can say 'she looks like me, she is the same size as me and she is an international rugby player playing on the best stage'. Football has done so much but they are all similar in shape and size. So being able to have that relatability and connection piece [in rugby] could have a massive impact in society.' August 2017: The wing Portia Woodman-Wickliffe scored eight tries against Hong Kong at Billings Park in Dublin in New Zealand's 121-0 victory in the Rugby World Cup pool stage. It's the joint second-highest winning margin in a women's World Cup game, alongside the US' 121-0 win over Japan in 1994 and only beaten by the Black Ferns' 134-6 victory against Germany in 1998. Woodman-Wickliffe said after the game: 'It's all down to the girls on the inside with the ball – they were working in the middle and I just get the glory in the end to finish it off.' 'This World Cup has the potential to change women's rugby for ever': England captain Zoe Aldcroft speaks to Donald McRae. Sarah Rendell chats to Marlie Packer about overcoming losing the captaincy to remain a key part of the Red Roses squad. A definitive guide to the Women's Rugby World Cup pools. Firefighter, mother, tattooist: three rugby part-timers on their sacrifices to live a World Cup dream. And the Wallabies have broken South Africa's aura of invincibility. Is Australian rugby back? Daniel Gallan on a shock result in the Rugby Championship.


North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Amy Jones: England in a good place ahead of Women's World Cup
Charlotte Edwards' reign as head coach started with England clean-sweeping a weakened West Indies but they were brought back down to earth by India, who edged both the T20 and ODI series this summer. Jones, currently competing for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred, remains upbeat ahead of the 50-over World Cup in India, with England starting their campaign against South Africa on October 3 in Bengaluru. 'It will be a great challenge,' England's wicketkeeper told the PA news agency. 'Lottie has put a lot of energy in and as a group, we've put a lot of time into our ODI game and how we want to go about it. 'We showed real progress – even against India – the scores we were getting were consistently higher than we've had in the last couple of years. 'Even though we didn't win the one-day series, we're tracking in the right direction. I think we're in a good place and everyone is really excited for the challenge.' England were eliminated in the group stages of last year's T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates after suffering just one defeat, albeit following an abject display against the Windies. The 50-over equivalent is not as cut-throat, with England playing all seven teams in one group with the top four reaching the semi-finals, and Jones accepts it will be more a test of endurance this time. 'That was quite brutal, wasn't it,' Jones said, reflecting on the early T20 World Cup exit. 'I think a 50-over World Cup is a totally different challenge. 'It's a big challenge of fitness and a lot of off-field stuff comes into consideration. If we stick to what we know works for us and we adapt to conditions well, it should put us in good stead.' Jones, who has flourished after being promoted to open in ODIs alongside Tammy Beaumont, counts Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry as a team-mate and her captain at the Phoenix. Perry, is regarded as one of the greatest women's cricketers of all-time, and Jones admitted she has tried to learn from her approach to the game. 'She's a brilliant player,' Jones added. 'The standard she sets is so high. She's just so level. You wouldn't be able to tell whether she's had the best game of her life or not done so well. 'I am quite level on the whole but I probably present more level than I am. It's easy to have a bad couple of games and lose confidence quickly. 'It's not that obvious with me externally but that is something I have improved; trying to stay level, try to keep confidence high and not overthink too much.'