Sheffield Wednesday's November internationals as six players aim to impress
Sheffield Wednesday have a cluster of players who will be hoping to make their mark on the international stage during this month’s break.
Following Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Southampton at St Mary’s, Sheffield Wednesday’s focus now switches to the upcoming Steel City derby against Sheffield United at Hillsborough after the international break.
The Owls will welcome their cross-city rivals to S6 in their first game after the current hiatus, meaning they will be desperate to mark the occasion by securing their first home win of the season and their first triumph over their neighbours in 13 years.
With the squad having been decimated during the summer, Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has had no choice but to get on with job with a limited number of resources. However, he is hoping he will soon be able to add to his squad if the EFL give the Owls the green light to bring in some free agents.
MORE: Preferred bidder deadline set as three more parties make moves on Sheffield Wednesday takeover
Although Wednesday’s collective focus will now be on their first meeting of the season with the Blades, some members of Pedersen’s squad will first be focusing on making their mark on the international stage.
In total, six members of Wednesday’s ranks have been called up to represent their respective nations during this international window. Bailey Cadamarteri, Yan Valery and Sean Fusire will be hoping to make their mark at senior level, while Harry Amass, who scored his first Owls goal against Southampton, Will Grainger and Logan Stretch will represent England and Wales at youth level respectively.
Starting with Cadamarteri, the striker will be hoping to return to Hillsborough on the other side of the pause having helped Jamaica qualify for their first World Cup since 1998. The Reggae Boyz are currently top of their qualifying group with two games to go, sitting one point ahead of second-placed Curaçao, who they face in their final qualifier.
Jamaica face Trinidad and Tobago away from home on Friday (12am GMT) before hosting Curaçao in their final qualifier on November 19 (1am GMT). Two wins will guarantee Jamaica and Cadamarteri at next summer’s showpiece event.
Owls stars will be hoping to make their mark
Valery will be hoping to add to his tally of 14 caps for Tunisia as they navigate their way through a hat-trick of friendlies against Mauritania, Jordan and Brazil. Tunisia will use their upcoming matches to continue their preparations ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations starting just before Christmas.
They face Mauritania on Wednesday (5.30pm GMT) before taking on Jordan at the same time on Friday. They will then lock horns with Brazil in France on November 18 (7.30pm GMT).
After a string of fine performances for the Owls in recent weeks, Fusire has deservedly been included in the Zimbabwe squad for their friendlies against Algeria and Qatar. Zimbabwe, who have also qualified for AFCON, face Algeria on Thursday (4.30pm GMT) and Qatar next Monday (4.30pm GMT).
The clash with Algeria will take place in the Saudi Arabian city of Doha, while the tussle with Qatar will take place at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha.
At youth level, Amass could find himself making up to as many as three appearances for England’s Under-19s as they begin their qualifying campaign for next year’s Under-19s European Championship. The Three Lions youngsters will take on Lithuania on Wednesday (4pm GMT), Latvia on Saturday (10am GMT) and finally Scotland on November 18 (10am GMT).
All three games will take place in Lithuania and Amass will be hoping to add to the caps he earned at Under-19s level last month.
Finally, fellow youngsters Logan Stretch and Will Grainger will also be hoping to impress on the international stage after being included in the Wales Under-19s squad for their clashes with Japan, USA and Germany.
Wales’ youngsters are competing in a mini international tournament on home soil and will face Japan in their opening game at Central Park in Denbigh on Wednesday evening (7pm GMT). They will then face the USA at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground on Saturday (2.30pm GMT) before wrapping up their schedule against Germany on November 18 at Central Park (11am).