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AFC Bournemouth players set for international duty

Written by Iain Pearce

With next week an international one, we give a rundown of which Bournemouth players will be playing for their nations.

The domestic season has come to an end, but a number of Cherries players have international action to play in June as they head off to represent their countries.

Lewis Cook remains on Three Lions duty in South Korea, the England under-20s captain faces Mexico in the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup after beating Costa Rica 2-1 in the last 16.

Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is also representing England at a tournament, heading to Georgia for the UEFA U19 European Championship, which starts for Ramsdale’s side on July 3rd with a game against Bulgaria in Tbilisi.

Brad Smith has been called up by Australia for a key period of internationals, starting with an important World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia in Adelaide on 8th June. The Socceroos then take on Brazil in a Melbourne friendly on 13th June.

After that Smith’s side will head to Russia to take part in the Confederations Cup where they are due to play Germany, Cameroon and Chile in the group stage, with a run potentially stretching to the final on 2nd July.

Ryan Fraser has been selected for the Scotland squad and could make his international debut against England at Hampden Park on 10th of June if chosen by international manager Gordon Strachan.

Joshua King is in the Norway squad for the game against the Czech Republic, with his national side seven points off Northern Ireland in second place in Group C and in need of a rapid change around in form as they enter the second half of World Cup qualification.

Harry Arter is in the Republic of Ireland squad for games on consecutive Sundays in Dublin. First, Arter’s charges host Uruguay in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium before they play Austria in a World Cup qualifier at the same venue seven days later.

Marc Wilson is on standby for the Republic of Ireland squad.

Before he joins up with his new team-mates in July, Asmir Begovic has a key World Cup qualifier to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina against Greece.

Begovic’s side are one point behind Greece, who currently occupy the runners-up spot that offers a play-off match to get to Russia. Intriguingly, Bosnia host the team directly above them on 9th June, with the chance to jump above them in the race for a second consecutive World Cup appearance.

Benik Afobe has been called up for DR Congo and could make his debut for the Leopards when they play Congo on 13th June.

Mihai Dobre from the under-21s squad is due to meet up with the Romania under-21s team, with the attacker’s national side facing Liechtenstein on 13th June in a qualifier in the UEFA EURO U-21 first qualifying round.