Young Spireites duo on international duty

The most recent international break saw two young Spireites appear for their country.

Liam Jessop linked up with the Gibraltar national team, whereas Gunner Elliott joined the Malta senior team for training before playing for the U21s.

The former was called up to Gibraltar’s squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Croatia and the Faroe Islands.

He earned his first two caps for Los Lanis in the previous international break, playing against Montenegro and Czech Republic.

Jessop started and played the full 90 minutes in Gibraltar’s defeat against a Croatia side that included the likes of Andrej Kramaric, Ivan Perisic and Luka Modric.

The versatile right-sided player came off the bench in the 69th minute against the Faroe Islands as Gibraltar fell to a late defeat.

As for Elliott, after training with the senior side, he prepared to make his first appearances for the U21 side.

Malta had back-to-back friendlies against San Marino, which ended in two successive victories for Elliott and co.

The young striker came off the bench in both games around the hour-mark and provided an assist for the winner in the second game.

Malta U21s won 1-0 and 2-1 in the respective fixtures, marking three games unbeaten for the side before they head into 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship qualifying in October.