Ireland Under 21 boss Jim Crawford turns to the future by opting for youth
A rebuilding job is under way after Ireland missed out on next year's Euro Under 21 finals
Jim Crawford has opted to rejig his Under 21 panel as they seek to rebuild for the future.
Crawford’s Cubs narrowly missed out on qualification for next year’s European Championships.
As a result the manager has decided to pick players who were born during or after 2004 for this month’s double header against Sweden - men who are eligible for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers.
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The survivors from the last squad are James Abankwah (8 caps), Mark O’Mahony and Rocco Vata (5 caps) but players with Under 21 experience include Conor O’Brien, Adam Murphy, Alex Murphy, Sean Grehan and Ed McJannet.
There are first international call-ups for Jacob Slater of Brighton & Hove Albion, Gabriel Otegbayo of Sheffield Wednesday and Adrien Thibaut of Crewe Alexandra. Franco Umeh misses out due to injury.
Crawford said: “This is a great opportunity to look at all our options ahead of qualification games next year. Much of the squad would have come through our international pathway, but for most this is their first involvement in an Under-21s squad.
“This will be a great experience for them, and having the likes of James Abankwah, Mark O’Mahony and Rocco Vata involved, who were all a key part in the last campaign, is huge as we expect them to have a big role going forward. The same goes for Sam Curtis, we’ve seen his quality, but he’ll remain with his club for this window as he has an opportunity for important minutes with his club that will further his development going forward.”
Ireland accumulated a record-equalling amount of points (19), the highest points tally of any side to finish outside the top two group places.
They also found the back of the net 24 times, which is the most goals scored during an Irish Under-21 qualification campaign.
Crawford added: “Last month was really difficult to take, but I’m proud of the players and what we achieved as a group. We had five players involved with the senior team during the campaign, with two earning full caps (Andrew Moran and Sinclair Armstrong) and that’s a huge indicator of success.
“I’ve full faith that more from the last campaign will go on and represent our country and me and the rest of the underage international managers and staff will be proud to have played a small part in their journey.”
Republic of Ireland Under-21 Squad
Goalkeepers: Noah Jauny (Stade Brestois), Aaron Maguire (Tottenham Hotspur), Conor Walsh (Sligo Rovers).
Defenders: James Abankwah (Udinese), Sean Grehan (Crystal Palace), Darius Lipsiuc (Stoke City), Alex Murphy (Newcastle United), Connor O’Brien (Accrington Stanley), David Okagbue (Walsall, on loan from Stoke City), Gabriel Otegbayo (Sheffield Wednesday), Jacob Slater (Brighton & Hove Albion).
Midfielders: Ed McJannet (Lecce), Jamie Mullins (Brighton & Hove Albion), Adam Murphy (Bristol City), Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh (Southampton), Glory Nzingo (Swansea), Rocco Vata (Watford), Harry Vaughan (Hull City).
Forwards: Tommy Lonergan (Fleetwood Town), Sean Moore (West Ham United), Mark O’Mahony (Portsmouth, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), Ben Quinn (Mansfield Town), Adrien Thibaut (Crewe Alexander), Kevin Zefi (Roma)
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