Scotland calling
Monday, 28th Aug 2017Stuart Morrison and Callum Smith to travel with the Scotland Under 19 squad to Serbia
Dunfermline Athletic can boast two players in the Scotland Under 19 squad to face hosts Serbia and Ukraine in an international tournament this week.
Callum Smith (above right) was named in the original squad and now Stuart Morrison (left) has also been called up. Only the Old Firm, Hearts and Hibs have more than one representative in the squad.
Both Callum (17) and Stuart (18) are in their second year of full-time football. Callum has started every league match this season for the Pars after making a big impact on his starting debut v Hearts in the Betfred Cup.
Stuart has played the full 90 minutes of the four Edinburgh City matches since going on loan there on 11th August.
Stuart has been at Dunfermline from the age of eight. He made his debut for the 20s up at Inverness just days after his fifteenth birthday. The Inverkeithing High School pupil played between 30 and 40 under 20s matches.
He signed a full time contract in April 2016 and was involved in the Scotland Under 19 squad that travelled to Greece last year.
Callum`s brother Connor is with Hearts and is a member of the Scotland Under 16 squad. He has captained them and scored in their most recent win over Uruguay. Callum told the media ahead of going off to Serbia:-
“I’m absolutely delighted with the call-up, it’s brilliant. It’s a shock for me because two years ago I was just playing boys’ club football with the Blue Brazil Boys’ Club in Cowdenbeath, and now I’m playing full-time football and just got into the Scotland under-19s squad.
“I’ve never been involved with any Scotland squads before, so it’s a brilliant achievement for me and I’m really proud of myself."
Callum Smith and Stuart Morrison follow in the footsteps of team-mate Lewis Martin, who won four under-19 caps.
Donald Park is now the Under 19s coach and he will be assisted by Darren Jackson with Gordon Marshall joining as goalkeeping coach.
The Under-19s begin their European Championship qualification campaign in November, aiming to reach their first finals since 2006.
International Tournament Fixtures
Thursday, 31 August 2017: Serbia v Scotland, kick-off 4pm (UK time) – City Stadium, Subotica
Friday, 1 September 2017: Scotland v Ukraine, kick-off 4pm (UK time) – Stadium FK Senta, Senta
Monday, 4 September 2017: Final or placing match, kick-off tbc – Stadium tbc
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