Shea has been a standout player for Wednesday this season since signing on loan from Southampton, and has become a mainstay in Michael O’Neill’s squad at international level too – captaining the team on a number of occasions despite still being just 21.
For Pierce, he’s found this season to be a tough one in terms of playing time, however he’s impressed in the Carabao Cup and done well for NI in the games that he’s played for them. They’ll now be hoping to team up again when their national side face Switzerland and Sweden.
The club said on their official website, “Owls duo Pierce Charles and Shea Charles have been called up for Northern Ireland duty in the upcoming international break. Michael O’Neill’s squad was revealed early on Tuesday afternoon with the Charles brothers once again earning a place.
“Northern Ireland are set to play two friendly fixtures, the first of which takes place on Friday 21 March against Switzerland at Windsor Park (7:45pm). The squad will then travel to the Strawberry Arena in Stockholm, where they’ll face Sweden on Tuesday 25 March (6:00pm).”
The full Northern Ireland squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers
Pierce Charles (Sheffield Wednesday), Conor Hazard (Plymouth Argyle), Luke Southwood (Bolton Wanderers).
Defenders
Ciaron Brown (Oxford United), Trai Hume (Sunderland), Brodie Spencer (Huddersfield Town), Eoin Toal (Bolton Wanderers), Ruairi McConville (Norwich City), Paddy McNair (San Diego FC), Terry Devlin (Portsmouth), Aaron Donnelly (Dundee).
Midfielders
George Saville (Millwall), Jordan Thompson (Stoke City), Shea Charles (Sheffield Wednesday, on loan from Southampton), Isaac Price (West Bromwich Albion), Paul Smyth (Queens Park Rangers), Ethan Galbraith (Leyton Orient), Brad Lyons (Kilmarnock), Justin Devenny (Crystal Palace), Ross McCausland (Rangers).
Forwards
Dion Charles (Huddersfield Town), Callum Marshall (Huddersfield Town, on loan from West Ham United), Lee Bonis (ADO Den Haag), Dale Taylor (Wigan Athletic, on loan from Nottingham Forest), Ronan Hale (Ross County).
Meanwhile, the likes of James Beadle, Jamal Lowe and others – including a number of youngsters – will still have to wait to find out if they’ve made the cut for the upcoming fixtures, with several Owls having represented their respective countries over the last 18 months or so.
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