Internationals: Eight Senior Hornets Called Up

James Abankwah, Rocco Vata and Jeremy Ngakia have all received their first senior call-ups ahead of the upcoming international window.

The trio are among eight senior Hornets who will represent their countries over the coming days as the Sky Bet Championship takes a break for the last time this season.

Abankwah and Vata have been rewarded for their excellent displays in yellow with places in the Republic of Ireland squad.

Ireland face a two-leg UEFA Nations League relegation play-off with Bulgaria, with the first game away in Plovdiv on Thursday March 20.

They will then host the second leg in Dublin on Sunday March 23.

Ngakia, meanwhile, has been called up by the Democratic Republic of Congo for the first time in his career.

There will be a familiar face in the squad for the right-back as Hornets midfielder Edo Kayembe is also involved again as the country continues its qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.

DR Congo will host South Sudan in Kinshasa on Friday March 21 and then travel to Mauritania on Tuesday March 25.

Vakoun Bayo is another set for World Cup qualifying action in Africa as he has made the Ivory Coast squad for their trip to Burundi on Friday, and then their home game with Gambia on Monday March 24. 

Giorgi Chakvetadze will once again link up with Georgia for their Nations League relegation play-off against Armenia.

They will travel to Yerevan for the first leg on Thursday before hosting the second game in Tbilisi on Sunday.

Goalkeeper Egil Selvik is in the Norway squad, with the country due to begin their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.

They will open their Group I account away at Moldova on Saturday March 22 before an away game with Israel, to be played in Hungary, on March 25.

In South America, Francisco Sierralta has been named by Chile for a pair of World Cup qualifiers.

They will begin with a trip to Paraguay on Thursday, before hosting Ecuador on Wednesday March 26.

Elsewhere, five Academy players also received call-ups to represent their countries during the window.

Amin Nabizada earned a first call with England Under-18s but, sadly for the young forward, he will not be able to join up with the squad due to injury.

Goalkeeper Gabriel Ortelli will be in the frame for two friendlies with Cyprus Under-21s, at home to Bulgaria and Israel on Thursday and March 24 respectively. 

Nickson Okosun has made the Republic of Ireland Under-19s squad for their European qualifiers in Wolfsburg in Germany.

They will take on Finland (March 19), Slovenia (March 22) and the host nation (March 25), with the winners of the round-robin qualifying for the final tournament in Romania this summer.

It will be the same goal for Marat Galajevs and Latvia, who will take on hosts Italy (March 19), France (March 22) and Spain (March 25) in their group.

In Under-17 action, Raul Vancea will join up with Romania for games against Liechtenstein (March 19), Scotland (March 22) and North Macedonia (March 25).

After failing to win a place at this year’s European Championship in Albania, the goal will be to regain League A status for the next qualifying cycle.