Soccer:Republic of Ireland under-17 manager Sean McCaffrey has named an 18-player squad ahead of the Uefa Championship first phase qualifiers in Bulgaria from September 27th-2nd.
Ireland will play games against the host nation Bulgaria, Latvia and Sweden with the aim of securing a top-two finish in the group to progress into the elite section of the qualifying series.
McCaffrey is delighted to welcome back Derrick Williams (Aston Villa) and Kevin Knight (Leicester City), both of whom missed the warm-up tournament in Poland last month through injury when Ireland lost to Russia and Sweden before defeating Romania.
"Derrick and Kevin will strengthen the squad and most of the debutants in Poland did well enough to retain their slots in the panel," said McCaffrey.
"Bulgaria in the first game will be difficult. They're the host nation and will expect to win the group but we've enough quality in our ranks to match any of the other three teams. That said, it's all about the lads producing the performances and we'll have to work hard to qualify from this tough group."
Republic of Ireland under-17 squad:
Sean McDermott - Arsenal
Jack Bonham - Watford
Ben Glasgow - Arsenal
Michael Barker - Belvedere
Richard Bryan - Aston Villa
Derrick Williams - Aston Villa
Neil Yadolahi - St. Kevin's Boys
Sean McGinty - Manchester United
Brian McGroary - Wolverhampton Wanderers
Shane Byrne - Leicester City
Carl McHugh - Reading
Frankie Sutherland - QPR
Callum Webb - Arsenal
Anton Rodgers - Chelsea
Kevin Knight - Leicester City
George Smith - Southend United
Daniel Purdy - West Ham United
Aiden O'Brien - Millwall.
Under-17 Uefa Championship first phase qualifiers:
Sunday, September 27th (3pm)
Republic of Ireland v Bulgaria, Druzhba - Dobrich
Tuesday, September 29th (1pm)
Republic of Ireland v Latvia, Albena Stadium
Friday, October 2nd (3pm)
Republic of Ireland v Sweden, Albena Stadium
