Academy of Football duo called up for Scotland Under-21s qualifiers

 

Brian Kinnear and Harrison Ashby


Brian Kinnear and Harrison Ashby have both been called up for Scotland Under-21s for an upcoming UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier.

The young Scots face their first competitive fixtures since November 2020 when they make the trip to Bursa to take on Turkey in the opening match of Group I on Tuesday 7 September.
 


For 20-year-old goalkeeper Kinnear, who joined the Hammers following a successful trial period over the summer, the fixture marks an opportunity to build on his Scotland U21s debut in June, a second-half substitute appearance in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Northern Ireland.

For 19-year-old full-back Ashby, meanwhile, the call-up is his first since October of last year, having been ruled out for the majority of last season through injury.

Just weeks after making his West Ham United first-team debut, Ashby enjoyed his full debut for Scott Gemmil’s Scotland U21s team in a 2-0 win over Czech Republic, before scoring as a second-half substitute in the 7-0 win over San Marino four days later.

Ashby has thus far started both of the West Ham’s U23s’ Premier League 2 Division 1 fixtures, setting up Mipo Odubeko’s opening goal in the 4-2 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday.

The 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championships will take place in Romania and Georgia in June 2023.

Also in Scotland’s qualification group – from which the top team advances and the second-placed team goes into the play-offs – are Belgium, Denmark, Kazakhstan and Turkey.
 

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