SOCCER UNDER-19s:REPUBLIC OF Ireland Under-19 manager Paul Doolin considered himself satisfied with yesterday's European Championship draw, which pitted his side against hosts Romania, Greece and the Czech Republic at the showpiece to be contested from July 20th-August 1st.
Managing to avoid Group B, which features four-time champions Spain and Serbia, the only nation to beat Ireland in six competitive outings so far this term, as well as a fancied Turkey side and Belgium, pleased Doolin.
With the top two from each of four-nation groups progressing to the semi-finals on July 29th, Ireland can enter their first under-19 finals for nine years with an air of confidence.
Still, speaking after the draw from Bucharest last night, the Ireland boss insisted his side will have their work cut out to progress at the eight-nation event.
“People may say that our group is the easier of the two but we must respect the Czech Republic and Greece who, like us, have reached this stage by topping a difficult elite stage group,” said Doolin.
“Greece came out of their group with a maximum nine points, while the Czechs have a great track record at this level. Romania, too, will be a decent side, especially with home advantage. It’s very warm here at the moment and we can expect the temperatures to get very hot by the time we play our first game on July 20th.”
To that end, Doolin will later this week finalise details on a pre-tournament warm-weather training camp for his squad, most likely to be held in Italy.
