Irish U20 match with Egypt falls through

The proposed Under-20 friendly match between the Republic of Ireland and Egypt scheduled for Saturday, March 15 has fallen through.

The game had been designed as part of the preparation for the Irish squad heading for the United Arab Emirates for the World Youth Championship finals later this month.

The World Youth Championship has since been postponed by FIFA.

Irish manager Gerry Smith has outlined his disappointment at losing the fixture.

"It would have been a nice opportunity to get the lads in for a game and to meet them but that is not now going to happen and we will just have to get on with it," says Smith.

"Perhaps we might be able to arrange an alternative fixture. We’ll be having a look at that possibility in the weeks ahead."