Football: Irish U21, Senior and U17s take on Luxembourg, Montegnegro, Azerbaijan, Qatar and North Macedonia
Squad announced for Azerbaijan & Qatar fixtures
Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny has named a 26-man squad for the FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan and the international friendly against Qatar.
Ireland travelled to Baku for their qualifier against Azerbaijan on Saturday, October 9 before returning to Dublin to take on Qatar on Tuesday, October 12 at the Aviva Stadium.
Wigan Athletic striker Will Keane has received his first international call-up to Ireland having scored four goals in the opening nine matches of the League One season.
Sheffield United left-back Enda Stevens, Derby County midfielder Jason Knight and Rotherham United winger Chiedozie Ogbene all return to the squad after injury ruled the trio out of the September matches.
Captain Seamus Coleman and defender Dara O'Shea are both ruled out through injury as Cyrus Christie retains his place in the squad, having been called up for the 1-1 draw against Serbia.
Tickets for the Qatar match are priced at a Centenary Special price of just €20 for adults and €10 for children for the match on Tuesday, October 12, with kick-off at 7.45pm.
Click here to get your tickets now
Republic of Ireland Squad v Azerbaijan / v Qatar
Goalkeepers: Gavin Bazunu (Portsmouth, on loan from Manchester City), Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth).
Defenders: Matt Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur), Cyrus Christie (Fulham), Shane Duffy (Brighton and Hove Albion), John Egan (Sheffield United), Enda Stevens (Sheffield United), Ryan Manning (Swansea City), James McClean (Wigan Athletic), Andrew Omobamidele (Norwich City), Nathan Collins (Burnley).
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Anderlecht), Jeff Hendrick (Newcastle United), Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa), Harry Arter (Nottingham Forest), Jamie McGrath (St. Mirren), Jason Knight (Derby County).
Attackers: Callum Robinson (West Bromwich Albion), Aaron Connolly (Brighton and Hove Albion), James Collins (Cardiff City), Daryl Horgan (Wycombe Wanderers), Adam Idah (Norwich City), Troy Parrott (MK Dons, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Will Keane (Wigan Athletic), Chiedozie Ogbene (Rotherham United).
Republic of Ireland manager Stephen KennyUnder 21 Men's Team:
Republic of Ireland Under-21s will play their first home game of the season and their first with fans in almost two years when they take on Luxembourg today.
Ireland drew 1-1 with the visitors only last month in Dudelange. Colm Whelan's first goal for Ireland was cancelled out by a late Dylan Kuete penalty.
The Boys in Green will be looking to go one better at Tallaght Stadium with the Irish public getting a first look at a Jim Crawford U21 team.
Liam Kerrigan of UCD and Drogheda United's David Odumosu received their first call-ups to an Irish international team.
Ticket News
Adults tickets are priced at €10, Under-16s €5 with a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) available for €20. They can be purchsed here
Match Details
Fixture: Republic of Ireland U21 v Luxembourg U21
KO Time: 5.15pm
Stadium: Tallaght Stadium, Dublin
Match Officials
Referee: Besfort Kasumi (KOS)
Assistant referee:Edmond Zeqiri (KOS)
Assistant referee: Lumturije Muhadri (KOS)
Fourth official: Visar Kastrati (KOS)
Team News
Shelbourne's Kameron Ledwidge and Derry City's Ronan Boyce joined-up with the squad earlier this week. All players trained yesterday ahead of today's fixture.
Manager Jim Crawford said: "We're fully focused on Luxembourg and have been working on aspects of our game during the week and we believe we can score goals to win it. It's a short campaign of 10 games, so it's a sprint from the begining, so you're looking to get three points in every game.
"It's great to be able to play in front of fans in Tallaght Stadium and the players are really looking forward to it. There was a real buzz last year playing in Tallaght last year and one thing I can say is that the fans can be impressed with the players we have here because they are a really good bunch."
Republic of Ireland Under-21s squad for Luxembourg U21
Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Bury Town, on loan from Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), David Odumosu (Drogheda United)
Defenders: Ronan Boyce (Derry City), Joel Bagan (Cardiff City), Kameron Ledwidge (Shelbourne), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Oisin McEntee (Greenock Morton, on loan from Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness (Cardiff City), Jake O’Brien (Crystal Palace), Lee O’Connor (Tranmere Rovers, on loan from Celtic)
Midfielders: Conor Coventry (Peterborough United, on loan from West Ham United), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Alex Gilbert (Swindon Town, on loan from Brentford), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Conor Noss (Borussia Möchengladbach), Ross Tierney (Bohemians), Louie Watson (Derby County)
Forwards: Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Will Ferry (Crawley Town, on loan from Southampton), Joshua ‘JJ’ Kayode (Rotherham United), Liam Kerrigan (UCD), Andrew Moran (Brighton and Hove Albion), Ollie O’Neill (Fulham), Tyreik Wright (Salford City, on loan from Aston Villa), Colm Whelan (UCD)
Fixtures - UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers (all times are Irish times)
Tuesday, October 12 | Montenegro U21 v Republic of Ireland U21
Irish U21 Footballers v Luxembourg and MontenegroUnder 17 Men's team:
Ireland will take on North Macedonia on Sunday, October 10 followed by Poland on Wednesday, October 13 in the first round of qualification for the Under-17 EUROS, having played Andorra yesterday and winning 5-0 in comprehensive style.
All games will be at the home of Cork City, Turner’s Cross, with fans able to back the Boys in Green with tickets priced at €5 for adults and €1 for kids/students/OAPs.
Around 1,000 fans saw Ireland MU17s beat a strong Mexico side 2-1 last month and Head Coach Colin O’Brien is calling on Ireland fans to come out in numbers to support his exciting young team.
He said: “The players were speaking after the win over Mexico about just how much the crowd encouraged them and got behind them and I think that shows just how vital the supporters can be during a game. They (the players) really felt that fan-to-player connection and having a crowd at Turner’s Cross was huge for us.
“These are three big games that set-up our season and I’m sure the Irish fans will be there to get behind this young and exciting Ireland team.”
On his squad O’Brien added: “Having the National League run through the summer gave us a great opportunity to look at a lot of the players and that has helped us in our selection process.
“There’s a very good dynamic within the team which I believe transfers onto the pitch. The players get on so well together and you see that on the pitch.
“I feel there are some really good players in this group with high potential and it is exciting to have them together for these upcoming games.”
Ireland U17 Mens team v MexicoRepublic of Ireland Men’s Under-17 Squad
Goalkeepers: Fintan Doherty (Derry City), Conor Walsh (Sligo Rovers)
Defenders: Luke Browne (Shelbourne), Sam Curtis (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Cathal Heffernan (Cork City), Ruadhan Kane (Klub Kildare), Daniel Kelly (Sligo Rovers), Luke O’Brien (St. Patrick’s Athletic)
Midfielders: Justin Ferizaj (Shamrock Rovers), Gavin Hodgkin (Shelbourne), Darius Lipsivc (St. Patrick’s Athletic), James McManus (Bohemians), Rocco Vata (Celtic)
Forwards: Trent Kone Doherty (Derry City), Liam Murray (Cork City), Caden McLoughlin (Villareal), Alex Nolan (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Mark O’Mahony (Cork City), Franco Umeh (Cork City), Kevin Zefi (Inter Milan)
UEFA Under-17 European Championship Qualifying Round - Group 5
Sunday, October 10 | Republic of Ireland MU17 v North Macedonia MU17, Turner’s Cross, KO 7pm
Wednesday, October 13 | Republic of Ireland MU17 v Poland MU17, Turner’s Cross, 1pm
Tickets Information for Republic of Ireland MU17 Qualifiers
North Macedona MU17 https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/u17-republic-of-ireland-v-north-macedonia-tickets-180179350287
Poland MU17 https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/u17-poland-v-republic-of-ireland-tickets-180180634127
Cathal Heffernan Irelands U17 international