Soccer:Republic of Ireland under-19 head coach Paul Doolin has named his 18-player squad for the upcoming Uefa Championship which take place in Bucharest, Romania from July 20th to August 1st.
Included in the squad is Bray Wanderers striker, Conor Murphy, Watford's Sean Murray and Joe Shaughnessy from Aberdeen. The trio scored in Ireland's final qualifying game against Italy to send the team through to the finals.
The eight team Uefa Championship in Romania is the Republic of Ireland’s first appearance at the finals since 2002 after they emerged from the Elite Qualifying Phase ahead of Italy, Ukraine and Poland last May.
Ireland will go into the finals on a seven game unbeaten run and will take on Greece in the opening Group A game on July 20th. The second game will see Doolin's side take on Czech Republic on July 23rd with the final group game taking place against the hosts Romania on July 26th.
Spain, Turkey, Serbia and Belgium will form Group B. Two from each group will progress to the semi-finals on July 29th with the final taking place on August 1st.
In preparation for the championships, Doolin and his squad will travel to Rome for a training camp from July 10th-17th.
“Picking just 18 players for this squad has been an incredibly difficult task but I believe that the players selected are here on merit and our main priority must now be our opening game against Greece on July 20,” said Doolin.
“We will approach the finals like any other qualification phase and first aim to get out of the group and take this championship one game at a time.
“Greece’s record in the tournament to date is very impressive given that they qualified from a group which contained France, Slovakia and Belarus without dropping any points.
“I have been studying DVD’s of Greece from those games and we must ensure that our players are prepared for the challenges that they will face in the finals.”
Doolin added: “Preparation for the tournament in Bucharest is key and the seven day training camp in Rome prior to the finals will be an ideal setting in terms of acclimatisation and getting the players together as a group.”
Republic of Ireland U19 squad:Samir Carruthers - Aston Villa Football Club, Matt Doherty - Wolverhampton Wanderers, John Egan - Sunderland Football Club, Kane Ferdinand - Southend United, Anthony Forde - Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jeff Hendrick - Derby County Football Club, Kevin Knight - N/A, Aaron McCarey - Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sean McDermott - Arsenal Football Club, Conor Murphy - Bray Wanderers, Sean Murray - Watford Football Club, John O' Sullivan - Blackburn Rovers, Anthony O'Connor - Blackburn Rovers, Joe Shaughnessy - Aberdeen Football Club, Connor Smith - Watford Football Club, Declan Walker - Wrexham Football Club, Eoin Wearen - West Ham United, Derrick Williams - Aston Villa Football Club
