Lord of the Dance
Ireland will play Israel in the 2023 European U21 Championship qualification play-off in September
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Ireland will play Israel in the 2023 European U21 Championship qualification play-off in September

IRELAND's U21's side will play Israel in the 2023 European U21 Championship qualification play-off in September.  

Jim Crawford's side would have reached their first European finals last week with a victory against Italy, but Ireland lost 4-1 in Ascoli. The result meant Ireland finished second in Group F. 

The matches will be played between 19 and 27 September.  

The first leg is set for the Tallaght Stadium. 

Victory for the young Irish side will mean they will they reach their first finals in Romania and Georgia next summer (9 June - 2 July). 

Match details will be confirmed in due course. 



 

Speaking to SunSport after the Italy defeat, Crawford said: I know the group, I trust the group, and I have enormous faith in the group. 

“I’m sure there will be people who will say, ‘Ah, hold on, they’ve reached their ceiling’, but that is not the case. 

“Italy were streets above anybody in the group. They should have blown away Sweden in their two draws, and Montenegro when they drew with them. 

“In those games, they missed chances. The difference is they took them against us. 

“We’ll learn from that, and we have to before the play-offs. 

“That is the level of teams you’re going to come up against in the finals next year, so we have to get there — and we will get there. I have every confidence with the players.” 

U21 playoff draw 

Croatia v Denmark 

Slovakia v Ukraine 

Republic of Ireland v Israel 

Iceland v Czech Republic