Five former Derry City players have been included in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland squads for World Cup qualifiers.
Former City player James McClean.
Three ex-Brandywell favourites are included in Republic squad for crucial games against Sweden at the Aviva Stadium this Friday and the away clash with Austria in Vienna four days later.
James McClean, who came off the bench in the last five minutes to help Wigan Athletic secure a 2-1 home win over Nottingham Forest in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday last, will be hoping to add to his 13th international cap .
Also included in Giovanni Trapattoni’s 23-man squad is goalkeeper David Forde who played in Millwall’s 1-1 draw away to Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend and looks set to take is place between the posts after missing last month’s 0-0 friendly with Wales in Cardiff.
Completing the ex-Derry trio in the Republic squad is Derby County striker, Connor Sammon, who was a 75th substitute in his side’s 3-0 home defeat by Burnley on Saturday.
Meanwhile, full-back Danny Lafferty, an unused substitute in Burnley’s win over Derby, and striker Niall McGinn, who played the full 90 minutes in Aberdeen’s 0-0 home draw with St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, are included in the 22-man Northern Ireland squad to face Portugal at Windsor Park this Friday before travelling to take on Luxembourg next Tuesday.
Manager Michael O’Neill is expected to include the former City duo in this starting line-up following their impressive performances in the shock 1-0 qualifier victory over Russia in Belfast last month.
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