A dozen Hibs players were on international duty this past week, taking part in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, the ANZAC Soccer Ashes Series and more.
Grant Hanley & Kieron Bowie – Scotland
The pair were called up to represent Scotland in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches versus Denmark and Belarus, respectively.
Hanley played the full 90 against Denmark at the Parken Stadium, earning praise from the media and supporters by playing a key role in Scotland keeping a clean sheet and earning a solid 0-0 draw against the Danes.
Bowie was listed as a substitute across both fixtures after previously earning his first cap in June 2025 against Liechtenstein.
The Scots picked up four points from their opening two games and currently sit joint top of C!
Martin Boyle & Jack Iredale – Australia
The Socceroos maintained their lengthy unbeaten record versus New Zealand – which stretches back to July 2002 – after twice defeating the All Whites in the ANZAC Soccer Ashes Series.
Boyle started the first encounter, playing 74 minutes as Australia sealed a narrow 1-0 victory over their neighbours. He came off the bench in the second meeting between the two nations on Tuesday, playing 15 minutes as the Aussies sealed a 3-1 victory.
Iredale enjoyed a second camp with the Australia senior squad following a training camp in Dubai, UAE, earlier this year. The defender was an unused substitute in the first match.
Junior Hoilett – Canada
Junior Hoilett earned his 66th and 67th caps for Canada in their European friendly matches against Romania and Wales.
The attacker replaced Jonathan David in the 79th minute of the encounter, which finished 3-0 to Canada, before coming off the bench in Les Rouges 1-0 victory over Wales in Swansea!
Rocky Bushiri – DR Congo
DR Congo faced South Sudan and Senegal in two crucial 2026 World Cup first qualifying round matches.
Rocky was on the bench as his country sealed a comfortable 4-1 victory over South Sudan.
The Hibs centre-back was an unused substitute in DR Congo’s next match – where they suffered late heartbreak losing 3-2 to Senegal. That result means that DR Congo drop to second in Group B – two points behind Senegal with two games to go.
The top spot automatically qualifies for the 2026 World Cup, whilst second would have to fight for a spot in the play-offs.
Jordan Obita – Uganda
The Cranes picked up two vital wins on the path to World Cup qualification, thrashing close challengers Mozambique 4-0 before seeing off Somalia with a comfortable 2-0 victory.
After earning his second call-up to the Uganda squad, Obita played every minute of both games – playing a key role in his nation’s two clean sheets across the break!
Uganda now sit second in Group G, leading Mozambique on goal difference while trailing Algeria by just four points heading into the final round of fixtures next month.
Thibault Klidjé – Togo
Togo were competing in 2026 World Cup Qualifiers across the international break, taking on Mauritania and Sudan.
Klidjé played 85 minutes as the Sparrowhawks fell to a 2-0 defeat against Mauritiana.
Four days later, Thibault was also involved from the start in Togo’s 1-0 victory over Sudan – playing over 70 minutes and taking his international appearance tally to 20!
Miguel Chaiwa – Zambia
Chaiwa played the full 90 minutes as Zambia lost out 2-0 to 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco, earning his 13th cap in the process.
This result unfortunately means Zambia have been eliminated from 2026 World Cup contention.
Joseph McGrath – Scotland U19s
Scotland U19s flew to Kranjska Gora over the international break for three friendly matches against Slovenia, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates.
Narrow defeats to Slovenia (2-3) and Kazakhstan (1-2) were followed by a thumping 7-1 victory over the UAE.
Centre-back McGrath impressively started all three matches and even popped up with a goal against Slovenia that, at the time, levelled the tie.
Arran McSporran & Callum MacDonald – Scotland U17s
The Academy duo were selected in Brian McLaughlin’s Under-17s squad to travel to Porto this past week, with the Young Team facing Serbia, Portugal and Italy.
Both McSporran and MacDonald started as the U17s were defeated 2-0 by Serbia in the first match of the break. McSporran started once more against European heavyweights Italy, as Scotland narrowly lost 2-1.
In between those matches, the young Scots recorded an impressive 3-2 win over Portugal!
