Brentford striker Marcus Forss will have the chance to close the gap on the Club’s most capped players in the coming weeks. In March, Marcus played his 12th game for Finland. Since Brentford entered the EFL more than a century ago, more than 1,000 players have appeared in our colours. There are now only five to have earned more international caps while with The Bees than Marcus.

Marcus’ 12th game for Finland came in a friendly defeat to Slovakia. He was involved for his country in the delayed UEFA European Championships 2020, played last summer, and also in an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022, being played in Qatar in the winter. Marcus has also scored twice for his country, making him one of only 15 players to have scored for their nations while on the books of Brentford.

Finland have four games coming up in the next few weeks. They will be played matches in the UEFA Nations League and Marcus has been selected in their squad. The striker can add to his caps and goals tally before the end of the season.

Brentford players have been involved in international football for longer than The Bees have been a Football League side. Brentford’s first international was Joe Connor, who played twice for the Ireland national football team, which represented the island of Ireland from 1882 until 1950, in 1903. Tommy Shanks also represented Ireland in 1905 and it was then almost 30 years until Dai Hopkins became Brentford’s third international, representing Wales.

Brentford played in the upper echelons of the First Division in the late 1930s and nine players won international honours, including the Club’s only two England internationals to date – Billy Scott and Leslie Smith. Only Dai Hopkins made a real impact while on Brentford’s books, with his 12 caps remaining a Club Record for more than 50 years. That was broken by Malta international John Buttigieg.

John signed for Brentford in November 1988. He spent just under three years with The Bees, leaving at the end of the 1990/91 season. In that period, John made 20 international appearances. His 97 games for his country leaves him eighth on Malta’s most capped player list.

Brentford players were selected for their countries throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but no-one earned more than 12 caps until Henrik Dalsgaard and Kamohelo Mokotjo. Both joined Brentford in 2017 and were part of their international squads while with The Bees. Henrik earned 22 of his 26 Denmark caps while with The Bees, which makes him the Club’s most capped player. He was the first Brentford player to appear in a World Cup, helping Denmark reach the last 16 in Russia in 2018.

Kamohelo played 15 times for South Africa while with Brentford, which is now good enough for fifth on our most capped list. Ahead of him are Danish internationals Christian Nørgaard and Mathias Jensen. Christian has 17 caps and Mathias has 16. Both are closing in on Henrik at the top of the list.

Kamohelo, along with Julian Jeanvier for Guinea, played in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He is one of only a few Brentford players - a list that also included Mathias, Christian, Henrik, Marcus, Halil DerviÅŸoÄŸlu and Frank Onyeka - to have appeared in an international tournament. With lots of international football to be played in 2022, Marcus and his current team mates can close in on the top of our most capped lists.