Micheal O’Neill has named his Northen Ireland squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 Playoff match with Bosnia & Herzegovina in Zenica on March 26th.
Mark Sykes of Oxford United has earned another senior call-up due to his sparkling performances at club level for League One side Oxford United.
Key players Jonny Evans and Stuart Dallas who missed Northern Ireland’s heavy defeat to Germany in November due to injury are back amongst the squad.
Sunderland striker Kyle Lafferty who scored his first goals for the Black Cats in a 2-2 draw with Gillingham on Saturday is also included alongside fellow club mates Conor McLaughlin and Tom Flanagan.
Norwich defender Jamal Lewis who scored his first Premier League goal in the 1-0 win over Leicester City also returns to the panel after missing out during the last international break with injury.
Shayne Lavery of Linfield and Blackburn Rovers Corry Evans drop out of the squad, Evans suffered a fractured frontal lobe and eye socket back in January.
Belfast-born Matthew Kennedy, who switched to Aberdeen from St Johnstone at the start of the year, and Mark Sykes are the only uncapped players in the Northern Ireland senior men’s panel.
Meanwhile It’s not clear whether the game will be played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Tickets for the game were due to go on sale on Wednesday, but the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced on Tuesday that the sale had been postponed “for several days”.
O’Neill commented “We are going to prepare the team as normal and do what we’re told. We have players in our squad that have played behind closed doors before if that happens.”
Full squad Goalkeepers: Michael McGovern, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Trevor Carso
Defenders: Jonny Evans, Craig Cathcart, Conor McLaughlin, Jamal Lewis, Michael Smith, Tom Flanagan, Ciaron Brown
Midfielders: Steven Davis, Niall McGinn, Stuart Dallas, Shane Ferguson, Paddy McNair, George Saville, Jordan Jones, Gavin Whyte, Jordan Thompson, Liam Donnelly, Matthew Kennedy, Mark Syke
Forwards: Kyle Lafferty, Josh Magennis, Liam Boyce, Conor Washington
