Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Scotland call up Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley for upcoming Euro 2012 qualifier

Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley has been called up to the Scotland squad for the forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifier against Czech Republic.

It is the first call-up for the former Manchester United youngster, who qualifies to represent the country through his father, who was born in Glasgow. 

Bardsley, who had a spell on loan at Rangers in 2008, was offered the chance to represent Scotland as an 18-year-old by then national coach Walter Smith, in conjunction with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, but chose to keep his options open. 

However, a recent change of heart has paved the way for manager Craig Levein to draft him into the squad after the withdrawal of Kirk Broadfoot.

Having trained with the rest of the squad throughout the week, Bardsley and the Scottish Football Association had to wait for the necessary approval from Uefa and Fifa to be made to formally include him in the 23-man party. But after overcoming those hurdles, the 25-year-old will now fly out to Prague with the rest of the squad on Wednesday night.

“If they want me they know where I am," Bardsley had previously told The Mirror about his Scotland availability. 

"They can get my phone number and ask me. I am English but if another country wanted me to play for them I would be happy to listen. They should contact me."

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