Everton: Which Blues are playing during the International Break?

After a fantastic comeback draw at Chelsea, some Everton players have left for international duty as the final international break of the season begins. UEFA begins the qualification for next year’s EURO championship and the CAF continues the Africa Cup of Nations qualification. So, which Everton players have been called up for their respective national squads?

Seamus Coleman – Ireland

Blues captain Seamus Coleman was called up for Ireland’s two matches this week. They face Latvia in a friendly on Wednesday before hosting World Cup runners-up France to begin their qualification for the EUROs five days later.

Coleman has 67 appearances for the boys in green, but his last appearance in competitive matches was in June of 2022 in UEFA Nations League play.  He will look to earn minutes against former Spurs player Mathew Doherty. Dependent on what formation team coach Stephen Kenny deploys, Coleman might lose out on playing time if a 3-5-2 is preferred, as Kenny may want more speed on his flanks.

Everton midfielder Amadou Onana has been a rising star for Belgium

Amadou Onana – Belgium

Eveton’s young star midfielder Amadou Onana gets another call-up to the Red Devils squad as they face Sweeden on Friday in their one EURO qualification match this window and Germany in a friendly on March 28.

Onana played in two matches in the World Cup, 45 minutes in the second half in a 1-0 victory against Canada, and started for 60 minutes in a 2-0 loss to Morocco. Onana may be asked to step up due to injuries to Youri Tielemans and Leander Dendoncker. This window can be a tremendous opportunity for Onana to make his stamp on the national team for future EURO qualification matches in the coming months. Onana has starred for Everton this season and is integral to the club fighting off relegation.

Jordan Pickford – England

England’s and the blues’ number 1 goalkeeper gears up for two EURO qualifying matches, first versus Italy on Thursday and Ukraine on March 26. Joran Pickford started all five matches in the world cup for the three lions.

England fell to France  2-1 in the quarter-finals and will look for better results in their first matches since Qatar. The other goalkeepers on England’s roster are veteran Fraser Forster of Spurs and youngster Aaron Ramsdale of Arsenal, who have 6 and 3 caps respectively, while Pickford has 50.

Alex Iwobi – Nigeria

The Blue’s leading assist man Alex Iwobi will look to amass 50 appearances for Nigeria as they have a home-and-home series with Guinea-Bissau in two Africa Cup of Nation qualifying matches on Friday and March 27.

The super eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, and they will look to keep their perfect record in the qualifying found as they are currently top of the table with six points from two matches. Iwobi most recently played for Nigeria in a November friendly against Portugal.

Hopefully, these four key players in the team perform well for their nations and return to Finch Farm in good health to continue Everton’s relegation fight. With only 10 matches left, every blue needs to be in top form for the club’s survival.