If a Championship side reveals it’s players to be part of a World Cup, it is huge news. For Ipswich, they have two players on duty in Russia this summer.
Polish goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski will be training with international teammates ahead of their fixtures with Senegal, Colombia and Japan in Group H. Bialkowski won his first cap for Poland earlier this year and will be competing with other keepers such as Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny.
Bart made 45 appearances for the Tractor Boys last season and hopes to earn playing time for his nation. Being at Ipswich since 2014 has been good for him as he is seen as the No.1 now. Whether he can get a sniff at international games is another personal goal.
If he could get any game time, he may be playing alongside players such as Robert Lewandowski, Lukasz Piszczek and Jakub Blaszczykowski.
The other Ipswich player called up for the World Cup is Jonas Knudsen. The Danish defender made 44 appearances for Ipswich last season, scoring one goal. He has already made three appearances for Denmark and would be aiming to add to his tally in the final tournament this summer.
Denmark will be facing France, Peru and Australia in Group C, which is quite an interesting group. Knudsen will be proud to receive any game time at the World Cup and could possibly play with players such as Andreas Christensen, Christian Eriksen and Michael Krohn-Dehli.
To be recognised by the national team while playing for a Championship team is quite an achievement. Knudsen and Bialkowski won’t just have a fan base from their own countries but every Ipswich Town supporter will be backing them to do well. Seeing your club’s players appearing at international level is quite a feeling.
New manager Paul Hurst will be interested in seeing if his players are used in Russia. The ex-Shrewsbury manager only arrived at the club recently and has much work to do. Getting to know his players would be his first priority.
Ipswich finished 12th last season and Paul Hurst will hope he can improve on that. He helped Shrewsbury reach the League One playoff final not too long ago but lost to Rotherham in the final.
With the involvement of players heading away for the summer, Paul Hurst will be focused on bringing in a few new faces.
But right now for all Ipswich players, they will be looking on to see if Jonas Knudsen or Bartosz Bialkowski can break into their national sides’ starting XI at the World Cup. If they do get chosen, Ipswich fans will be quietly cheering on Denmark and Poland.
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