Irish gear up for David versus Goliath task
While the team were recuperating from their battle against Romania for the point they needed to confirm their passage into the semis, most of Spain’s stars sat out their concluding fixture. That’s because the slick Spanish wrapped up top spot in their group with back-to-back beatings of Belgium 4-1 and Serbia 4-0. Ginés Meléndez’s fringe players failed to maintain their run against Turkey with a 3-0 defeat.
Come tomorrow night at Chiajna (6.45pm, Irish time), though, Paul Doolin’s side can be sure of facing a team stocked with players from Real Madrid and Barcelona.
They remain odds-on to claim their fifth U19 title in 11 years. In striker Álvaro Morata, they have the front-runner for the golden boot, three of his four goals coming in the Serbia whitewash. Skipper Pablo Sarabia lined out in the Champions League for Madrid last season and Arsène Wenger handed defender Ignasi Miquel his debut in the FA Cup last season. And, to underline their wealth of talent, six first-choice players didn’t even travel to Romania due to the U20 World Cup kicking off this weekend in Colombia.
Of the Irish squad, Kane Ferdinand has most first-team experience, having racked up 22 games at League Two outfit Southend United and he believes there are reasons for Ireland to be confident.
“The style we play under the manager means we like to press from the front. We know what we expect from them — sure they’ve got players from Real Madrid and Barcelona – but hopefully we’re on our A game,” said the cousin of Rio and Anton Ferdinand yesterday.
“We went to watch them against Belgium and it was what we expected. They dominated possession and moved the ball quickly. It’s up to us to try something against Spain because if we sit back and let them come at us, it won’t be good.”
One player ruled out for tomorrow is defender Matt Doherty who is suspended after he collected his second booking of the group phase. Doolin has no major injury concerns.
* RTÉ Two confirmed last night they will televise the game from 6.30pm.
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