Blackpool's Daniel Gretarsson receives international call-up while Shayne Lavery withdraws from Northern Ireland squad

Gretarsson wasn’t initially named in Iceland’s squad, but he replaces Jón Guðni Fjóluson who misses out through injury.

The defender, who has been capped once by his country, has only made one appearance for the Seasiders so far this season.

His one cap came in Iceland’s 1-0 friendly win against Canada in January 2020.

The 26-year-old, who underwent surgery on his shoulder during the summer after missing the back end of last season, played the full 90 minutes during Blackpool’s Carabao Cup defeat to Sunderland in August.

But he hasn’t even made Blackpool’s match-day squads for their recent league games.

Iceland take on Armenia and Liechtenstein in World Cup qualifiers on October 8 and October 11 respectively.

They currently sit second bottom of their group having collected just four points from their opening six games.

Elsewhere, Northern Ireland have now confirmed that Shayne Lavery has withdrawn from their squad for their upcoming qualifiers.

It comes after the striker picked up a hamstring injury during Blackpool’s 2-1 win against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

The 22-year-old was forced to hobble off after just 22 minutes having given the Seasiders an early lead with his third goal in as many games.

Ian Baraclough’s side take on Switzerland on October 9 before facing Bulgaria on October 12.

Had he been fit, Lavery would have been in line to feature in both games having scored his first international goal last month in the 4-1 win against Lithuania.

Lavery is one of five players to withdraw through injury alongside Preston North End’s Ali McCann.

Baraclough said: “We’ve dealt with injuries coming into a number of previous camps and, unfortunately, this one is no different.

“But this is a resolute group that has come together through adversity and I have no doubt they will do it again.

“We are still waiting for a few players to join us and we look forward to a few days training in Belfast before we fly out to Switzerland.”

Kenny Dougall and Tyreece John-Jules have also been called up to the Australian and England Under-21 squads respectively.

The Socceroos face Oman on October 7 before taking on Japan on October 12.

England Under-21s, meanwhile, face Slovenia on October 7 and Andorra on October 11.

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