Colin O’Brien keeping Cork City contingent grounded for home Under-17 Euro qualifiers

O’Brien has named his 20-man Ireland squad ahead of those important fixtures with Celtic’s Rocco Vata, Villarreal’s Caden McLoughlin, and Inter Milan’s Kevin Zefi the only three players selected that are currently not plying their trade with Irish clubs

Republic of Ireland U17 manager Colin O'Brien during a squad announcement at Turner's Cross. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Ireland begin what they hope will be a successful Uefa Under-17s European Championship qualification campaign next week with three key games taking place in Cork.

The young boys in green take on Andorra next Thursday evening followed by a clash with North Macedonia on Sunday night before meeting Poland on Wednesday afternoon with all their games in this first round of qualification taking place at Turner’s Cross.

Ireland are in Group five and the top two teams in each of the 13 overall groups will join top seeds Netherlands and Spain in the second stage of qualifying along with the four third-placed teams with the best records against the top two in their section.

Manager Colin O’Brien has named his 20-man squad ahead of those important fixtures with Celtic’s Rocco Vata, Villarreal’s Caden McLoughlin, and Inter Milan’s Kevin Zefi the only three players selected that are currently not plying their trade with Irish clubs.

And O’Brien has confirmed the objective for his squad is to finish in the top two in their group to put them in the draw for the Elite Round next spring - with a bit of luck those matches could also be played on home soil - and one step closer to the tournament in Israel next summer.

“The objective is to qualify, yeah, but we have to really make sure the players don’t get caught up in the occasion because they are playing at home - especially the Cork lads - and that they’re not overawed by that,” admitted O’Brien.

“That was a great plus having the opportunity to play two preparation games against Mexico about a month ago but the first game is the most important one and we will take it from there.

“There will be three different challenges. Tournament football… it's a rollercoaster basically once you hit the first game.

“It’s real competition now for the players, it’s meaningful, and it has a purpose. It’s an Under-17 Euro qualification campaign, it’s going to be the first experience for them at this age group and level.

“We always say it to the players, you can only play international European tournaments at 17s, 19s, 21s, and senior so it’s a huge opportunity.

“Right now, we feel this squad is here on merit and we feel these are the best 20 players equipped to compete for the under 17s and hopefully do the business to qualify for the next stage.” 

Republic of Ireland Under-17 squad

Goalkeepers:

Defenders: Luke Browne (Shelbourne), Sam Curtis (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Cathal Heffernan (Cork City), Ruadhan Kane (Klub Kildare), Daniel Kelly (Sligo Rovers), Luke O’Brien (St. Patrick’s Athletic).

Midfielders: Justin Ferizaj (Shamrock Rovers), Gavin Hodgkin (Shelbourne), Darius Lipsivc (St. Patrick’s Athletic), James McManus (Bohemians), Rocco Vata (Celtic).

Forwards: Trent Kone Doherty (Derry City), Liam Murray (Cork City), Caden McLoughlin (Villareal), Alex Nolan (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Mark O’Mahony (Cork City), Franco Umeh (Cork City), Kevin Zefi (Inter Milan).