Jim Crawford’s U21 side out to continue unbeaten start against Luxembourg
Manager may have to use entirely home-based selection for trip to face Montenegro
Daire Walsh
U21 European Championship qualifier: Republic of Ireland v Luxembourg, Tallaght Stadium, Friday, 5.15pm
The Republic of Ireland under-21s will be looking to extend their unbeaten start to Group F of the European Championship qualifiers when they welcome Luxembourg to Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening.
Following an impressive 2-0 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica on September 3rd, Jim Crawford’s side played out a 1-1 draw with Friday’s opponents in Dudelange four days later. Colm Whelan had edged the visitors in front with a 70th minute goal, before Luxembourg fired back late on through a Dylan Kuete penalty.
In what will be the first U21 international to take place in front of their own fans since November 2019 – when current senior boss Stephen Kenny was still in charge – Ireland will be seeking to go one better as they aim to pile pressure on Sweden and Italy at the summit.
This will be the first of two qualifiers to take place during this international window, with Ireland also set to face Montenegro in Podgorica on Tuesday.
Next week’s game could present Crawford with a potential headache, given Montenegro is currently on both the United Kingdom and Germany’s travelling red lists. Under Covid-19 related restrictions, any players based in either of these regions would be forced to undergo a period of quarantine before returning to their clubs from the Montenegrin capital.
With 17 of the squad falling into this category – and Montenegro not on Ireland’s red list at the moment – Crawford could be forced to bring an entirely home-based selection to Podgorica.
He will have a full hand to pick from this evening, however, and will be banking on a winning return to home soil against a side that are currently rooted to the bottom of the group table.
Team captain Conor Coventry and Gavin Kilkenny have formed an effective midfield partnership in the two games to date and will be central to Ireland’s chances of success.
While he hasn’t featured in recent weeks, Kilkenny has made four league appearances for English Championship pace-setters Bournemouth this season.
Though a number of domestic faces are on stand-by for the Montenegro game, there is already a strong League of Ireland representation within Crawford’s set-up for the visit of Luxembourg.
Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians) and Whelan (UCD) all saw game time in the recent stalemate with Manuel Cardoni’s men and are expected to play significant roles in this reverse fixture.