Ireland Men’s Under-17s Head Coach Colin O’Brien has named a 20-man squad for their U17 EURO Elite Round Qualifiers in Portugal next week.
Ireland come up against the Portuguese, Germany and Croatia in Group 5 as they look to reach a second consecutive European Championship.
Fans looking to watch the qualifiers can do so on the FAI’s Official YouTube channel, youtube.com/FAITV
Fifteen players in the squad play in the EA Sports League Academy, one of which is Bohemians’ goalkeeper Joe Collins.
Colin O’Brien has named his squad the U17 EURO Elite Round Qualifiers 🇮🇪
All games to shown on https://t.co/R0qpqWDlTw
Wed, March 20 | 🇵🇹 v 🇮🇪
Sat, March 23 | 🇩🇪 v 🇮🇪
Tue, March 26 | 🇮🇪 v 🇭🇷
More here 🗞️👉 https://t.co/3RM59cKRrm#IRLU17 | #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/5kyVcqgbfG— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 17, 2024
Speaking ahead of the qualifiers, Joe said, “Obviously anyone looking at that group will see it’s tough, but for us, we have to focus on our own game and not rely on other countries. I think if we get off to a positive start, it will certainly show we've got nothing to fear.”
Five of the squad were part of Colin O’Brien’s squad that reached the finals in Hungary last year. Joe added, “A good few of us were at the U17 EURO finals last year, and we know what it means to get there, so it’s good for us to speak to the lads who weren’t there and talk them through the importance of the games. It was a great experience last year, and as a group, it will be our aim to go again.”
Republic of Ireland Men’s Under-17s Squad
Goalkeepers: Joe Collins (Bohemians), Oisin Cooney (Finn Harps)
Defenders: Luca Cailloce (Shelbourne), Kaylem Harnett (Wexford), Taylor McCarthy (Shelbourne), Harry McGlinchey (Chelsea), James Roche (Shamrock Rovers), Finn Sherlock (Shelbourne), and and Egor Vassenin (Klub Kildare)
Midfielders: Rory Finneran (Blackburn Rovers), Niall McAndrew (Derby County), Matthew Moore (Hoffenheim), Luke O’Donnell (Derry City), Cathal O’Sullivan (Cork City), Aaron Ochoa Moloney (Malaga)
Forwards: Kyle Fitzgerald (Galway United), Mason Melia (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Matt Murray (Cork City), Michael Noonan (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Jaden Umeh (Cork City),
UEFA European Under-17 Championship Qualifiers: Group 5
Wednesday, March 20 |. Portugal MU17 vs. Ireland MU17, Cidade Desportiva do SC Braga, Portugal, KO 4pm
Saturday, March 23: Germany MU17 vs.s. Ireland MU17, Dr. José Matos, Viana Castelo, Portugal, KO 11am
Tuesday, March 26: Ireland MU17 vs. Croatia MU17, Dr. José Matos, Viana Castelo, Portugal, KO 11am
