Ireland Under-21s will play their final game of their June international camp when they take on Kuwait Under-22s in Bad Radkersburg, Austria on Monday.
The young Irish side are buoyed by an impressive performance against Ukraine on Friday that saw them battle back twice to draw the game 2-2. The performance was described as ‘outstanding’ by Head Coach Jim Crawford with Ukraine more than a year older than the Irish side and including senior international players.Kuwait will offer a different challenge to the Young Boys in Green who will be looking to bounce back from their 2-0 loss against the Ukrainians last Tuesday.
Ireland Under-21s forward Andrew Moran said: “Kuwait will be a good side. They’re an Under-22s side so they will be a bit physical and a bit older than us, but like we showed against Ukraine we can deal with the physical aspect. We’re looking at stamping our own game onto them. We’ve a lot of talent in this team and we want to go out and show that.”
On the injury front, Harry Vaughan (Hull City) and Tayo Adaramola (Crystal Palace) have both been ruled out of the game due to injury. Captain Joe Hodge (Wolves) is also ruled out as a precaution after suffering a head injury in the draw with Ukraine. Sinclair Armstrong (QPR) is likely to feature in the game.
Match Details
Fixture: Ireland U21 v Kuwait U22 Date: Monday, June 19 KO time: 4pm (Irish time) Stadium: Parktherme Arena, Bad Radkersburg, Austria.Ireland Under-21s Squad
Goalkeepers: Tiernan Brooks (Notts County), Killian Cahill (Brighton & Hove Albion), Josh Keeley (Tottenham Hotspur) Defenders: James Abankwah (Udinese), Tayo Adaramola (Crystal Palace), Sam Curtis (St. Patrick’s Athletic) James Furlong (Brighton & Hove Albion), Anselmo Garcia MacNulty (Wolfsburg), Sean Grehan (Crystal Palace), Connor O’Riordan (Crewe Alexandra), Sean Roughan (Lincoln City) Midfielders: Darragh Burns (MK Dons), Dara Costelloe (Burnley), Jack Henry-Francis (Arsenal), Joe Hodge (Wolves), Bosun Lawal (Celtic), Ed McJannet (Lecce), Killian Phillips (Crystal Palace), Harry Vaughan (Hull City) Forwards: Sinclair Armstrong (QPR), Conor Carty (St. Patrick’s Athletic, on loan from Bolton Wanderers), Dylan Duffy (Lincoln City), Aidomo Emakhu (Millwall), Andrew Moran (Brighton & Hove Albion), Armstrong Oko-Flex (West Ham United), Ollie O’Neill (Derry City, on loan from Fulham)