The Republic of Ireland Under-21s head into today's clash with Group F leaders Italy knowing a win will take them to a first ever U21s European Championship Finals.Last week, Jim Crawford's team secured at least a play-off spot after back-to-back home wins in Tallaght Stadium against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro and Italy and Sweden could only draw in Helsingborg. The young Boys in Green know now maximum points against the unbeaten Italians in Ascoli will secure their place in next summer's finals in Romania and Georgia.
Ireland's starting 11: Brian Maher, Lee O' Connor, Joel Bagan, Mark McGuinness, Eiran Cashin, Conor Coventry (C), Gavin Kilkenny, Will Smallbone, Tyreik Wright, Evan Ferguson, Liam Kerrigan.
Subs: Luke McNicholas, Dawson Devoy, JJ Keyode, Conor Noss, Jake O' Brien, Ollie O' Neill, Andy Lyons, Rob Tierney, Mipo, Odubeko
STARTING XI | Your U21s line-up 🇮🇪
Here’s how Ireland will start against Italy in Ascoli ☘️
3 changes with Ferguson, Kilkenny and Bagan coming in for Kayode, Noss and Adaramola
⌚️ KO 4.30pm (Irish time)
📺 Live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player#IRLU21 | #COYBIG | #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/eJQe2khLpF— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) June 14, 2022
Match DetailsFixture: Italy U21 v Republic of Ireland U21KO time: 4.30pm (Irish time)Stadium: Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca, Ascoli, Where to watch: RTÉ2 and RTÉPlayerReferee: Gergo Bogár (Hungary)Assistant Referee: Theodoros Georgiou (Hungary)Assistant Referee: Georg Vigh-tarsonyi (Hungary)Fourth Official: Mihály Káprály (Hungary) Team News: Walsall defender Oisin McEntee has been ruled out of the game with a shoulder injury and hasn't travelled to Italy.
What they said Republic of Ireland U21 Manager Jim Crawford: "They (Italy) have real quality. They have talented players playing in Serie A and Serie B so it's going to be a great challenge for us and something our group of players will learn from. What a position to be in, knowing if we can win, we top the group which would be an unbelievable achievement."Republic of Ireland U21 Captain Conor Coventry: "We don't want to be a team that nearly done it or came so close - we want to qualify. We'd love to do it here on Tuesday. That's the aim, we're coming here to win. We're not coming to just have a game or practice for the play-offs, the aim is to win."
UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers – Group F (all times are Irish time)Tuesday, June 14 | Italy U21 v Republic of Ireland U21, Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca, Ascoli, Italy, 4.30pm
