The Ireland Under-17s have qualified for the Under-17s World Cup for the first time after beating Iceland 5-0 to take one of the best-placed runners-up Uefa qualifying spots.
Their second-place finish in Group A6 (with six points, behind Belgium on seven) was not enough to qualify for the Under-17s Euros, which will be held in May in Albania, but did secure their passage to November’s World Cup in Qatar.
Ireland beat Iceland in their final group fixture on Tuesday in Gryfice, Poland, with goals from Billy Canny, Charles Akinrintayo, a brace by Jaden Umeh and Finn Sherlock on target from the penalty spot.
After the win, head coach Colin O’Brien said: “We came here with the belief that we could qualify for the Euros. We knew there was a double prize at stake, and while we’re disappointed to not get to the European Championships, to reach a World Cup is an amazing achievement for the players and the staff. It’s a great achievement for our country.”
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The result comes two days after the FAI confirmed it had reported a “racist incident” to Uefa that allegedly took place during Ireland’s win over Poland on Saturday.
A statement from the association offered “full and unequivocal support to the player who was subjected to racism and to his team-mates”, adding the FAI expects Uefa to investigate the matter fully “and take the appropriate action”.
IRELAND: Moloney, Canny, McDonagh, Leonard, Sherlock, McDonnell (Akinrintayo, 58 mins), Finneran (capt), McMahon-Brown (McAteer, 82), Martos (Ozhianvuna, 73), Umeh (Brody, 81), Hayes (Solanke, 81).
ICELAND: Ingvason, Ketilsson, Asgeirsson, Arnarsson (capt), Samuelsson (Egill Orri Arnarsson, 46 mins), Andresson (Kristjansson, 46), Gudmundsson, Sævarsson (Dadasoon, 46), Gunnarsson (Johannsson, 63), Gurung, Gudjonsson (Halldorsson, 63).
Referee: D Nikolic (Serbia).
