First call-up for Cooper in Baraclough's first NI squad

And there are some new faces in the Republic line-up

Joel Cooper
Author: Nigel GouldPublished 24th Aug 2020
Last updated 24th Aug 2020

Ian Baraclough has named his first squad as Northern Ireland manager.

As expected, there is no place for rising star Mark Sykes who has to declare for the Republic.

But there is a first call-up for his Oxford United colleague Joel Cooper who moved to the League One side last month from Linfield.

And Steven Davis will again skipper the side - and is expected to draw level with Pat Jennings' all-time caps record of 119.

Young Linfield striker Shayne Lavery is also in the 26-strong squad for the Nations League matches agains Romania and Norway.

In addition, there is a place for Blackburn Rovers midfielder Corry Evans who was set to miss out on March’s play-off because of a serious head injury before the match was rescheduled due to coronavirus.

Evans will reach the 60 caps milestone should he get crucial minutes under his belt in this international window.

The full squad is:

Meanwhile, Jayson Molumby and Adam Idah have been handed first senior call-ups for the Republic of Ireland's Nations League clashes with Bulgaria and Finland next month.

Brighton midfielder Molumby, 21, and 19-year-old Norwich striker Idah have been included in new manager Stephen Kenny's first squad with another teenager Troy Parrott, who will spend the new season on loan at Millwall from Tottenham, also joining up.

There are returns to the 23-man party for James McCarthy, Harry Arter, Shane Long and Darragh Lenihan, while Sheffield United striker David McGoldrick will be added for the Finland game as he continues to work his way back from a foot injury.

Ireland face the Bulgarians in Sofia on Thursday September 3 before entertaining the Finns at the Aviva Stadium three days later.