Monday, December 23, 2024

Northern Ireland: Michael O’Neill calls uncapped Christy Pym into his squad in place of injured Bailey Peacock-Farrell

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Northern Ireland have called Mansfield Town goalkeeper Christy Pym into their squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Belarus and Bulgaria.

The 29-year-old has not played for his country before, but trained with his new team-mates on Tuesday after regular keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell withdrew from the squad on Monday with a shoulder problem.

With Plymouth Argyle’s Conor Hazard already absent through injury, manager Michael O’Neill was left with just two goalkeepers in his squad, Bolton Wanderers’ Luke Southwood and Pierce Charles of Sheffield Wednesday.

Pym, who has featured regularly for Mansfield in League One this season, was born in Exeter and previously played in a friendly for England Under-20s but qualifies for Northern Ireland through a Belfast-born grandmother.

Northern Ireland face Belarus in Hungary on Saturday evening before returning to Belfast to take on Bulgaria at Windsor Park.

They began their Nations League campaign with a home win over Luxembourg last month but were then beaten by Bulgaria in Plovdiv.

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