'That’s really important for us' - Ireland chasing third U17 World Cup win for kinder Round of 32 draw

The young Boys in Green booked their place in the knockout stages with a win over Asian Cup Champions Uzbekistan.

COYYBIG: Republic of Ireland U17 players, including Vinnie Leonard, celebrate. Pic: Nikola Krstic/Sportsfile.

The Republic of Ireland will look to make it three wins out of three in U17 World Cup when they take on Paraguay in their final group game on Tuesday (kick-off 1.30pm, Live on RTÉ2).

The young Boys in Green booked their place in the knockout stages on Saturday evening with a hard fought 2-1 win over Asian Cup Champions Uzbekistan, following on from their impressive 4-1 victory over Panama in their opening match.

But Ireland will be looking to secure top spot in Group J which will have an influence on their Round of 32 opponents, which they will discover following the conclusion of their match with Paraguay at the Aspire Zone in Doha, Qatar.

One player ruled out of clash is Max Kovalevskis after the Shamrock Rovers forward suffered a concussion during the win over Uzbekistan before being substituted at half-time. He will now adhere to FIFA’s return to play protocol.

Speaking ahead of their match, defender Vinnie Leonard highlighted the importance of maintaining their perfect record in the tournament to take into their Round of 32 tie on either Friday or Saturday.

“It was really important we got that win against Uzbekistan because ultimately we’re through now,” said Leonard.

“We have Paraguay, and we’ll prepare for them as we prepare for any game because we’ve a chance to top the group and that will decide who we get next. That’s really important for us.

“We expect Paraguay to be aggressive but going into any international game we know the standard is going to be high, you don’t doubt any team and we’re expecting a good test and the same as always is we want to win.”