King names U21 side to face 'tough' Faroe Islands test

Republic of Ireland U21 coach Noel King has named his squad for the UEFA Championships qualifier against the Faroe Islands in Toftir on August 14.

Wed, 31 Jul, 2013 - 18:12

Republic of Ireland U21 coach Noel King has named his squad for the UEFA Championships qualifier against the Faroe Islands in Toftir on August 14.

The Republic will start their qualifying campaign for the 2015 finals in Group Six with a visit to the Faroes, who have already played their first two games.

The Faroese lost 3-0 away to Montenegro and held Romania 2-2 at home in two games in June.

King said: "I’ve watched the Faroes twice now and if anybody thinks we just have to turn up and collect the three points then they are kidding themselves.

"They’ve got off to a solid start and proved in the Romania game that they will be a hard side to beat. We will be going there looking to win the game and people might expect us to do so but I am anticipating this being a tough test."

King has to operate without the suspended Derrick Williams and Anthony Forde while John Egan, Eoin Wearan and Mark O’Brien are all out of consideration as they recover from lengthy injuries.

The coach said: "The injuries and suspensions are part of managing any team and we have good players who have shown that they can do a job for the side.

"With the elevation of Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick to the senior squad – and everybody in our group is delighted for them – it shows that the U21 team is an excellent step towards playing senior international football."

The finals of the 2015 UEFA U21 Championships are to be held in the Czech Republic with ultimately four European teams then qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Republic of Ireland U21 squad:

Aaron McCarey (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Seán McDermott (Sandnes Ulf FC)

Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Michael Harriman (QPR)

Frankie Sutherland (QPR)

Shane Duffy (Everton)

Seán McGinty (Sheffield Utd)

Anthony O'Connor (Blackburn Rovers)

John O'Sullivan (Blackburn Rovers)

Joe Shaughnessy (Aberdeen)

Callum Reilly (Birmingham City)