King names Ireland Under 21 squad

Following yesterday’s announcement of Paul Doolin’s Under 19 squad, today was the turn of the Under 21s as manger Noel King announced his 20-man squad for the upcoming internationals.

First up the Republic of Ireland Under 21 team will take on Denmark in a friendly at Tallaght Stadium on 28^th May (7:30pm kick-off). The squad will then travel west where they will meet Italy in a UEFA Under 21 Championships qualifier at The Showgrounds, Sligo a week later on Bank Holiday Monday, 4th June (3:00pm kick-off).

The Republic of Ireland currently sit third in Group Seven of the qualifiers, three points behind Turkey who have played two games more, and six points behind Italy who have played one game more and who sit top of the group with maximum points after five games.

The ten group winners and four best runners-up progress to a playoff for a place in next year’s tournament in Israel.

Speaking on his announcement, King said: “We’ve assembled a good squad that we will be looking to build on our previous performances. At this stage of the season some players have not played for a couple of weeks so the Denmark game will be extremely important.”

 “Italy are a very well-prepared side that recently beat Scotland 4-1 in a warm-up game so everything is geared towards being prepared for that fixture.”

There are two uncapped players in the squad, Torquay United’s Eunan O’Kane and Sunderland’s John Egan, while two players from Paul Doolin’s Under 19 squad, Aston Villa’s Samir Carruthers and Watford’s Seán Murray will link up with the squad after their competitive duties with the Under 19s is finished.

Captain and Wigan Athletic starlet Rob Kiernan is not included as he receives treatment on an injury, however he may join the squad at a later date.

Closer to home Cork City’s Gearóid Morrissey and St Patrick Athletic’s Chris Forrester have been placed on standby along with Hibernian’s Matt Doherty.

Republic of Ireland Under 21 Squad in full:

Ian McLoughlin – MK Dons

Aaron McCarey – Wolverhampton Wanderers

Mark Connolly - Unattached 

Shane Duffy – Everton

Greg Cunningham – Manchester City

Niall Canavan – Scunthorpe United

Lanre Oyebanjo – York City

John Egan – Sunderland

Jeff Hendrick – Derby County

Eunan O’Kane – Torquay United

Richie Towell – Hibernian (on loan from Glasgow Celtic)

Aidan White – Leeds United

Conor Clifford – Chelsea

Samir Carruthers – Aston Villa

Conor Hourihane – Plymouth Argyle

Seán Murray – Watford

James Collins – Shrewsbury Town

Rhys Murphy – Arsenal

Aaron Doran – Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Robbie Brady – Manchester United