International Imps Update – World Cup Place At Stake

September 8, 2025 Gary Lincoln City, News 0

Lincoln City’s international contingent were in action this week, representing their countries in key qualifiers across Europe and the Caribbean.

Sadly, two of those players are not ones we’ve seen yet, so we’re in the odd position of talking about two faces still not known to supporters! Ivan Varfolomeev, we have seen – he is with Ukraine Under 21s, while Dexter Lembikisa is with Jamaica, and Justin Obikwu is with Trinidad and Tobago.

Busy Schedule for City’s Internationals

Varfolomeev featured for Ukraine’s Under-21 side in their Euro qualifier away to Lithuania. The young midfielder played 79 minutes in a convincing 4-0 victory, picking up a booking along the way as his nation strengthened its position in the group.

Further afield, Dexter Lembikisa added to his growing tally of Jamaica caps. Still just 21, he started in a World Cup qualifier against Bermuda, helping his side to a comprehensive 4-0 win in Hamilton. Lembikisa, who has already amassed 29 senior appearances for his country, continues to underline his importance for the Reggae Boyz while gaining further experience during his loan spell with City.

Interestingly, Bailey Cadamarteri, the Imps’ loanee from last season, was also in the squad. That meant Dad Danny was there, hopefully able to see from his seat in the main stand.

Finally, there was also action for forward Justin Obikwu, who came off the bench for Trinidad and Tobago in their 0-0 draw with Curaçao. Introduced in the 83rd minute, he made his presence felt with a late yellow card for a foul on former Manchester United player Tahith Chong, before the game ended goalless.

Imps Players To Face Each Other

Fascinatingly, we could see an Imp going to the World Cup at the end of this season. We’re due for the big tournament in 2026, and both Jamaica and Trinidad are battling in Group B of the CONCACAF third round. The winner of the group goes to the tournament, split across the US, Mexico and Canada.

Trinidad and Jamaica meet this week, with the two players going toe-to-toe, and they meet again in November. Group winners will be in the World Cup. Could we see an Imp go? Currently, after just one game, the Reggae Boyz top the group courtesy of the 4-0 win.

Matches Could Be Postponed

The presence of three Imps on international duty raises the prospect of fixture clashes later in the season. With further call-ups expected in October and November, games against Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers could be postponed. Officially, having three players called up gives a club the right to a postponement if requested in time, but having a player on the international standby list reportedly doesn’t count. That said, I was led to believe we were able to postpone a game last season due to a player being on England youth standby, rather than in the full squad.

Also, EFL regulations state that clubs are eligible to request the postponement of a league fixture if they have three or more players called up for international duty. However, to seek the postponement, clubs need to request this at least five clear days before the fixture date, so we would get a bit of notice. It could still sting if we lost Bradford, for instance, on the Monday before.