Ipswich Town may be having a mini-blip in form but they have been given some good news by one of their top players. As well as the busy festive schedule, some teams are also having to prepare to be without key players as both the African Cup of Nations and Asian Cup take place during January.
Sam Morsy has been one of the first names down on manager Kieran McKenna’s team sheet during the opening half of the season, and news has come through that the midfielder has made himself unavailable for the Egyptian national team, ahead of the AFCON next month, as reported in the East Anglian Daily Times.
He has nine caps to his name, his debut coming in 2016, but was part of the World Cup squad in 2018 and got some game time in Russia. He was also called up this past September. He is eligible for the Pharaohs due to his father, who left Cairo for the UK.
Such is the form and leadership of Morsy’s play; McKenna has made him captain. But after being dropped completely from Egypt’s last squad he has stated that he is fully committed to The Blues promotion push, and not be a player that could only be used sporadically during the tournament.
There was a possibility that the skipper could have missed as many as five critical games, as Egypt is one of the favourites to make a deep run. And with Ipswich currently without a win in three games, they are looking to right a ship that has veered off course.
That will start this weekend with a home game against struggling Queens Park Rangers. It’s a game which Morsy is missing due to suspension. Further to that he is one booking away from a further ban.
Morsy, now 32, helped secure a point against leaders Leicester City on Boxing Day evening. His deflected shot gained a point, and kept a surging Southampton at arm’s length, as they are still five points clear of the south coast side who now sit in third place.
This decision was on the heels of Massimo Luongo announcing his retirement from international football, which keeps him in Suffolk rather than representing Australia in the Asian Cup. The flip side is that two players will be missing as they play for their countries.
Elkan Baggott is likely to feature for Indonesia, and Cameron Burgess is in the Socceroos squad. Both will be playing in Qatar as Ipswich continue their assault for Premier League glory.
Writer’s View
The price of success is that players get recognised, and even though the two tournaments being played next month are often overlooked by mainstream media, a lot of talent goes missing from our leagues.
The dilemma of whether to represent your country, or play for your club, is not a new one. Morsy has come to the conclusion that he has a much better chance of playing regularly for his club, and helping them achieve their goals.
