Academy International Round-Up: Goodman heads to World Cup, Walker-Smith prepares for home U19 Euros & Benamar extends scoring streak

Club

8 Jun 2026

Five Crystal Palace Academy players have been away on international duty during the May and June window.

Owen Goodman enjoyed World Cup preparations after being named in Canada’s squad for the 2026 tournament, marking a significant milestone in his international career. There were also senior international debuts for Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Tayo Adaramola!

At youth level, Dean Benamar continued his excellent form for England Under-18s, scoring in Cyprus to make it three goals in three appearances, while Charlie Walker-Smith was involved with Wales Under-19s as they continued to build towards this summer’s UEFA European Under-19 Championship on home soil.

Find out more below!

Owen Goodman – Canada senior national team

Palace Under-21s 'keeper Owen Goodman was an unused substitute in Canada’s most recent pre-World Cup fixtures against Uzbekistan and the Republic of Ireland.

The 22-year-old Academy graduate received his first World Cup call-up after being named in Canada’s final 26-man squad for the tournament, marking a major milestone in his international progression.

Goodman was part of the squad for both final pre-tournament friendlies, remaining on the bench in a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan in Edmonton on Tuesday (2nd June) and a 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland in Montréal on Friday (5th June), as Canada stepped up their final preparations for the global stage.

Those appearances form part of a broader build-up towards their World Cup opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina on Friday (12th June), with Goodman still awaiting his senior debut but remaining firmly in contention as Canada finalise their plans.

Canada will also face Qatar and Switzerland in Group B as they look ahead to a demanding group-stage campaign.

Goodman’s selection in the final squad caps a rapid rise at international level. He first received a senior call-up during the November window against Ecuador and Venezuela, before further involvement in March fixtures against Iceland and Tunisia.

Since then, he has been a consistent presence around the national team environment, including training camp involvement in Charlotte during Canada’s final preparations before squad selection was confirmed.

Goodman arrives at the tournament following another important season of senior development across League One.

The Academy graduate began the 2025/26 campaign with Huddersfield Town, making 12 appearances and keeping four clean sheets, before joining Barnsley on loan in January, where he quickly established himself as first-choice goalkeeper.

He went on to start 22 of his 25 eligible matches, recording five clean sheets as Barnsley finished 15th in League One.

His international recognition continues a strong upward trajectory following last season’s promotion-winning campaign with AFC Wimbledon, where he earned League Two Team of the Season honours and the division’s Golden Glove award.

Huge congratulations, Owen!

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi – Ghana senior national team

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi made his long-awaited senior debut for Ghana during their international friendly against Mexico in Puebla, featuring from the start for the Black Stars in a 2–0 defeat.

The winger was handed a starting role as Ghana continued preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, marking another important milestone in Rak-Sakyi’s development after switching international allegiance from England.

The 23-year-old came close to announcing himself in spectacular fashion shortly after half-time, crashing a powerful effort against the crossbar as Ghana searched for a route back into the contest. He was later replaced on 66 minutes by Razak Simpson.

Rak-Sakyi’s first senior international call-up followed a productive second half of the season on loan at Stoke City, where he made 15 appearances after arriving in January and scored against Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday.

The winger has been selected by head coach Carlos Queiroz as part of Ghana’s preparations for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, but is not set to feature at the final tournament.

Tayo Adaramola – Republic of Ireland

Tayo Adaramola made his senior international debut for the Republic of Ireland in their 5–0 friendly victory over Grenada at the Enrique Roca Stadium in Murcia.

The 22-year-old defender was included in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s squad for their warm-weather training camp in Spain, with the head coach using the fixture to integrate emerging talent into the senior set-up.

Ireland started brightly and controlled the game through an aggressive press, with Adaramola involved in the early stages as the team applied sustained pressure in the final third. Grenada were kept under constant pressure throughout, with Ireland’s intensity in and out of possession dictating the tempo of the match.

Adaramola was withdrawn at half-time as part of a series of changes, with Ireland going on to secure a comfortable victory to round off their training camp.

The debut marks another step in the defender's development after joining Sheffield Wednesday on loan in January, where he made 15 starts in 16 appearances following a spell with Leyton Orient earlier in the campaign.

Dean Benamar - England U18s

Palace Under-18s defender Dean Benamar rounded off an impressive international break in style after scoring in England U18s’ 6-1 victory over Cyprus on Sunday afternoon (31st May).

The Young Lions had travelled to Cyprus for their final fixtures of the 2025/26 campaign, with one eye already on preparations for the 2027 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifiers.

Benamar had earlier featured in a 2-1 win over Greece, playing the full 90 minutes and opening the scoring with a driven finish into the bottom corner at the Dasaki Achnas Stadium near Larnaca.

He then followed that up with another goal against Cyprus after coming off the bench on the hour mark, making it three consecutive England U18 appearances in which he has found the net.

The 18-year-old had also scored during the previous international camp in March, continuing his strong form at international level as England secured a perfect end to their season with back-to-back victories.

England U18s concluded their campaign with a convincing 6-1 win, marking a positive end to the international year for Ben Futcher’s side.

Congratulations, Deano!

Charlie Walker-Smith – Wales Under-19s

Charlie Walker-Smith has been involved with Wales Under-19s as preparations continue for this summer’s UEFA Under-19 European Championship, which will be hosted in North Wales for the first time.

The Under-18s centre-back was part of a recent training camp at Colliers Park (18th–20th May), as the age group stepped up their build-up to the tournament under new head coach Chris Gunter.

The camp formed part of an extended international development cycle, with Walker-Smith also having featured across previous preparatory windows, including camps and tournaments in Marbella and Spain over the past year.

That involvement continued into Wales’ most recent double-header of pre-tournament friendlies in Valencia, where he started in both matches. Cymru opened with a 2-0 victory over Qatar on Friday (5th June), with Walker-Smith playing the first half, before following up with an unfortunate 3-1 defeat to Sweden on Monday (8th June).

Both fixtures provided valuable testing ahead of a historic summer on home soil, with Wales drawn in Group A alongside nine-time winners Spain as well as Germany and Denmark.

As part of their final preparations to host their first-ever men’s UEFA Under-19 EURO Finals, Cymru will return for an additional pre-camp in North Wales later this month before the tournament gets underway.

Keep track of how our Academy players get on this international window below!

All times are UK.

Canada – Owen Goodman

Tuesday, 2nd June: Canada 2-0 Uzbekistan (Goodman was an unused substitute).
Saturday, 6th June: Canada 1-1 Republic of Ireland (Goodman was an unused substitute).

Ghana - Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

Saturday, 23rd May: Mexico 2-0 Ghana (Rak-Sakyi played 66 minutes before he was substituted, he saw an effort cannon off the crossbar).

Republic of Ireland – Tayo Adaramola

Saturday, 16th May: Grenada 0-5 Republic of Ireland (Tayo Adaramola played the first half and helped the team earn a clean sheet).

England U18s - Dean Benamar

Thursday, 28th May: England U18s 2-1 Greece U18s (Benamar played the full 90 minutes and found the back of the net)
Sunday, 31st May: Cyprus U18s 1-6 England U18s (Benamar took to the pitch on the hour mark and found the net for the third time in as many U18 appearances).

Wales Under-19s – Charlie Walker-Smith

Monday, 18th May to Wednesday, 20th May: Wales U19s training camp at Colliers Park
Friday, 5th June: Wales U19s 2-0 Qatar U19s (Walker-Smith starts before being hooked at half-time).
Monday, 8th June: Wales U19s 1-3 Sweden U19s (Walker-Smith makes it consecutive starts for Cymru).

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