Jim Crawford’s Ireland Under-21s will return to Dublin for the first time in two years after Tallaght Stadium was confirmed as the venue for their UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifier against Latvia.
The young Boys in Green will take on the Latvians in Dublin 24 on Tuesday, September 10 (kick-off 5pm) in a crucial qualifier as they bid to become the first Irish Under-21s side to reach the European Championships.
It has also been confirmed that the Under-21s’ final home group game against Norway on Friday, October 11, will take place in Turner’s Cross, Cork. Leeside has been a welcome home for Jim Crawford’s team, who have recorded three wins and a draw since making Cork their base since March 2023.
The last time the Under-21s were in Dublin was back in 2022, in front of a near 7,000 crowd for the first leg of the play-off against Israel. The game ended 1-1 with Evan Ferguson on target for Ireland in a team that included Jake O’Brien, Will Smallbone and Festy Ebosele, who have all gone on to earn senior caps.
Ireland U21s to return to Dublin for their EURO Qualifier with Latvia next month 🇮🇪
The young Boys in Green will face the Latvians at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday, September 10 ☘️
Tickets go on public sale this Friday
Further details here on accessing the pre-sale 🎟️⤵️#COYBIG
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) August 14, 2024
Ireland Under-21 Head Coach Jim Crawford said: “It’s exciting to be back in Dublin for this game. We have great memories of Tallaght Stadium, with it being our home for numerous campaigns, and we’ve had some memorable matches there.
“It’s the first opportunity in this campaign for the Dublin public to get down and see the next generation of Ireland internationals and any fans in Cork who witnessed our games will tell you they’ve made for exciting occasions.
“It’s a huge international window for us and preparation is key. We've got a huge game against Turkey four days before Latvia at home, and setting up a base in Dublin before each of the qualifiers gives us the best chance to be prepared when travel is taken into consideration.
“You’ve only got to see the crowd our women’s senior team got in Cork to see how amazing the fans are there, and that’s why we want to reassure the Cork public that we’ll be back very soon.”
