2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championships

[Diggs246]

I dont think Michael obafemi will switch but I do think we will have issues on when he turns up or not etc

[geysir]

Sweden were beaten 1 nil by Iceland at fortress Vikingur's stadium. Not much to report from the game except the Shane Duffy style headed goal from the son of Eidur. That's a serious dent in Sweden's hopes. Though they do play Italy on monday and I wouldn't rule out their chances at home to get a result.

[Eirambler]

Is that the wind tunnel of a place that Ireland played them in?

That was probably the worst possible outcome for us from that game, Sweden have little or nothing to play for now against Italy and it has brought Iceland back into contention in the group.

[geysir]

There was wind but this time it only blew in one direction.Sweden will be match fit and almost be at full strength v Italy, it should be a competitive game.

[DeLorean]

Sweden don't seem to be very good though.

[geysir]

Possibly, but you didn't watch the game. From the Wildlings perspective, Sweden were a much much tougher opponent than Ireland.
Both teams (Ice Swe) had undergone many changes. U21 performances can swing, teams can have 5 or 6 changes so it is difficult to predict. From what I saw of Italy in the first half of the group, they looked like lower than average first seeds. Who knows what they have in their team now, but they will have to perform good.

I hope you don't mind the POS fallback qualification being inserted.

[ifk101]

Sweden had 5 debutants against Iceland, and had a man sent off (best player on paper) prior to the goal. Also missed a sitter in the first half. They've lost a couple of players to the seniors since the start of qualification but it's not a particularly talented group of players regardless even if they put it up better against Iceland than us. Sweden always has a knack of grinding out performances and results with groups of mediocre players so they can be seen by some as a more difficult opponent than us.

[DeLorean]

Sweden up 1-0 :o - https://www.uefa.com/under21/match/2026590--sweden-vs-italy/

Edit: 3-0 full time.

[Eirambler]

Results are all over the place in this group. Italy go to Iceland next, nothing guaranteed for them there either.

[geysir]

When it comes to Scandinavian football, just accept what I say as coming from a very knowledgeable source and await the outcome :)

It took about 10 minutes for the Swedes to realise they were a much better team than this flash Italian bunch. In fact they should be greeted with a pelting of overripe tomatoes on their arrival in Italy such was their disgrace to the culture of Italian football.
For Sweden they had a new Nr 9 on his 2nd cap playing on the left side, Jesper Karlsson, just a pure delight to watch. A player you'd get out of bed to watch.

[tetsujin1979]

squad for the qualifier against Italy to be announced later today
1311946522746130433

[Eirambler]

Assuming that it is limited to 25 or so players it's inevitable that some very decent players are going to need to be left out. Especially at centre back where no players have been lost to the seniors and in midfield where we have serious depth even without Molumby.

Our attack will definitely be weaker though without Parrott and the two lads with the seniors. GK depth is an issue now as well, not much international experience below Bazunu with Kelleher gone to the seniors.

[ColourfulPeanut]

1311976721017528320

Squad named. That'd be Josh Kayode's first involvement with Ireland at any level, good to see!

[Eirambler]

1311976721017528320

Strong squad. No places for Hodge, Connell, Grant, Scully, Cassidy, O'Hora, Kilkenny, Roughan, McGuinness, Ebosele etc. and half a dozen more either injured or with the seniors.

Team should be something like

Bazunu
L O'Connor
T O'Connor
Masterson
O'Shea
Coventry
Knight
Smallbone
Ferry
Obafemi
Afolabi

[tetsujin1979]

Squad named. That'd be Josh Kayode's first involvement with Ireland at any level, good to see!
He was with the U18s before - https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/ireland-u18-squad-named-for-romania-friendlies


Strong squad. No places for Hodge, Connell, Grant, Scully, Cassidy, O'Hora, Kilkenny, Roughan, McGuinness, Ebosele etc. and half a dozen more either injured or with the seniors.

Team should be something like

Bazunu
L O'Connor
T O'Connor
Masterson
O'Shea
Coventry
Knight
Smallbone
Ferry
Obafemi
Afolabi
Think Hodge is injured, hasn't been involved for any of City's underage sides so far this season

[Olé Olé]

That's a strong list of lads not involved. Not only is the volume of players at PL level increasing, the volume of players playing at all levels seems to have increased with a lovely weighting towards younger players.

Danny Grant is one I am surprised not see in there.

As for the starting line up suggested, that still looks strong without the lads moved to senior. Plenty Premiership, Championship and League One games racked up, O'Connor in League Two and Ferry and Afolabi due to kick on.

[passinginterest]

Team should be something like

Bazunu
L O'Connor
T O'Connor
Masterson
O'Shea
Coventry
Knight
Smallbone
Ferry
Obafemi
Afolabi

I think it'll be a 4-3-3 like the senior side. Would expect a similar back 5 alright but slightly different midfield and forwards.
Bazunu

L O'Connor
T O'Connor
Masterson
O'Shea

Coventry
Taylor
Ronan

Elbouzedi
Obafemi
Farrugia

Strong looking squad and lots of options, particularly in midfield. Any of them could justify a start.

[tommy_c12000]

Looks a bit light up front? What’s Farrugia playing like at the moment? Had heard he hasn’t been lighting things up for a while?

Ryan Cassidy and maybe Scully could have been considered. They’ll probably get their chance though as Obafemi is a high risk for pulling out. Both also playing a league higher than Kayode

[Eirambler]

I think it'll be a 4-3-3 like the senior side. Would expect a similar back 5 alright but slightly different midfield and forwards.
Bazunu

L O'Connor
T O'Connor
Masterson
O'Shea

Coventry
Taylor
Ronan

Elbouzedi
Obafemi
Farrugia

Strong looking squad and lots of options, particularly in midfield. Any of them could justify a start.

I had actually intended my line up as a 4-3-3, probably should have spaced it out better to explain the formation.

Basically, if we follow the line that Kenny doesn't see Obafemi as an out and out lone centre forward and he is still with the under 21s to learn the "right side of a front 3" position, I think we will see him play there rather than centre forward for the Under 21s. So I think they might pick Ferry on the left of a front 3 to bring some natural width to the team. We know Afolabi can lead the line from his Under 19 performances so this is his big chance to step up with Parrott and Idah out of the reckoning.

I think the midfield three has a really nice balance to it with Coventry the sitter and Smallbone as the attacking midfielder, although Ronan will also be in contention for that spot. Knight is playing at a higher level than Taylor so I've picked him at 8, but Taylor is a strong option as well to be fair.

Collins must also be putting pressure on Masterson at centre back but Masterson and O'Shea have gone well together throughout the campaign so I think he might stick with that pairing.

Lots of positive tweeting from the selected players, Smallbone, Taylor, Ronan etc. - most Irish under 21 squads have been a formality for the better players to get into down the years but looking at the names left out it really feels like the players picked have to earn their places in this one.

[Scrufil]

I like the fact that all the strikers have nice tongue twisters of names. I propose the rest of the squad be named as Gaeilge, to further confuse the opposition. Use old Irish script on the back of the shirts, búiltes, fadas, the works.

[elatedscum]

Good squad. Can’t argue with the keepers or the defenders. I like Conor McCarthy and feel he’s unlucky to have never made a squad but can’t argue with the 4 CBs given their performance. Lee O’Connor, O’Shea and Masterson will start.

Midfield will obvious miss Molumby. I suspect that Knight will start in his place but could be Taylor or Mandriou. I’d say Ronan will start if match fit. Might end up playing Smallbone out wide.

There’s definitely logic to the thought that Obafemi will play out wide as they want a forward who holds up the ball. Otherwise, Farrugia and/or Elbouzedi. Farrugia did well against Dundalk and AC Milan I thought, although not sure the Rovers system gets the most out of him, I know they play very ultra wing backs but he’s still picking up the ball 20 yards deeper than I’d like...

Obviously Afolabi is also effective wide left but unless Obafemi is up top, I imagine he’ll start.

No harm them having a look at Kayode. I would have had either Grant or Cassidy but no problem with it...

[Olé Olé]

Looks a bit light up front? What’s Farrugia playing like at the moment? Had heard he hasn’t been lighting things up for a while?

Ryan Cassidy and maybe Scully could have been considered. They’ll probably get their chance though as Obafemi is a high risk for pulling out. Both also playing a league higher than Kayode
It is as though people are excited at the prospect of an Obafemi withdrawal.

[Eirambler]

Looking at that squad again - it's quite a young squad as well, even for Under 21 level. I think 10 of them will still be under 21 for the next campaign. It feels as though the likes of Lee O'Connor and Conor Coventry have been around the squad for ages but they'll both be eligible for Euro 2023, as will Obafemi. Bazunu would still be under 21 eligible for Euro 2025 (as would Troy Parrott).

[tommy_c12000]

It is as though people are excited at the prospect of an Obafemi withdrawal.

Odd comment. Not sure how you construed the excitement in my comment

[ColourfulPeanut]

It is as though people are excited at the prospect of an Obafemi withdrawal.
I think it's more concern or just an assumption after the last tweet. Also the fact he's now no longer cap tied to us.

No reason to doubt him yet though, we'll be optimistic!

[Olé Olé]

I think it's more concern or just an assumption after the last tweet. Also the fact he's now no longer cap tied to us.

No reason to doubt him yet though, we'll be optimistic!

That is my point. It's unfair. Similar points being made about Sotona.

[samhaydenjr]

Having Kayode in there is definitely a positive - hopefully it's a sign he's leaning towards playing for Ireland in the future

[Olé Olé]

Having Kayode in there is definitely a positive - hopefully it's a sign he's leaning towards playing for Ireland in the future

He has openly said he wants to play for Ireland. There is no leaning about it.

[Stuttgart88]

Good squad. Can’t argue with the keepers or the defenders. I like Conor McCarthy and feel he’s unlucky to have never made a squad but can’t argue with the 4 CBs given their performance. Lee O’Connor, O’Shea and Masterson will start.
Masterson over Scales? Scales has been on great form and has been getting games week in, week out.

[Eirambler]

Doubt he'll change an experienced partnership, which is what O'Shea/Masterson is at this level. Collins, if he was fit, would also have been the form pick over Masterson, but again I think they'd have stuck with Conor.

Has Scales not been in and out of the Rovers first team? I'm sure he played a good few games for the seconds after the restart.

[Stuttgart88]

Yeah, fair enough. I think Scales has played in the last 4 or 5 league games but would need to check [Edit: started last 6 league games. He missed AC Milan but I think he was suspended after a red card in the previous round. O'Brien may well have started ahead of him anyway though.]

[tetsujin1979]

Conor McCarthy added to squad
1313411172608155648

[Razors left peg]

Seen Conor Coventry shared a picture of u21 training with Obafemi. I would think that Obafemi turning up gets rid of any speculation of him switching allegiance

[elatedscum]

Seen Conor Coventry shared a picture of u21 training with Obafemi. I would think that Obafemi turning up gets rid of any speculation of him switching allegiance

Amen. The young lad has done nothing but be 100% since the beginning... he posted one ill advised tweet, and he’s not the only young irish player to have done so...

[geysir]

Italy are still due to play Iceland this friday at the indomitable fortress Vikingur stadium, despite their whole squad being held in Italy in quarantine, no training.
2 players had tested positive but with no symptoms.

Seeing as they have about a hundred thousand other players to choose from, they'll be able to fulfill the fixture.

[Stuttgart88]

Amen. The young lad has done nothing but be 100% since the beginning... he posted one ill advised tweet, and he’s not the only young irish player to have done so...
It's not the players who are the problem most of the time, it's hysterical fans on twitter and internet forums, and dumbass journalists who can't resist adding "who could still play for X or Y under FIFA rules" whenever a dual-national starts doing well.

[geysir]

Iceland's game v Italy later today has been postponed. 2 staff and one player tested positive at the airport on arrival. Local rules mandate a 4 day quarantine for the whole group, instead they'll all return to Italy.
That doesn't mean Ireland's game v Italy will be postponed, different rules apply.

[swinfordfc]

Iceland's game v Italy later today has been postponed. 2 staff and one player tested positive at the airport on arrival. Local rules mandate a 4 day quarantine for the whole group, instead they'll all return to Italy.
That doesn't mean Ireland's game v Italy will be postponed, different rules apply.

Any word when it be play again geysir?

[geysir]

Any word when it be play again geysir?
Both teams have 2 games scheduled in the November window. As it stands now, all the Italian group are in quarantine, UEFA have been informed and they will make the decisions on what happens next.

[geysir]

I hope this result did not go unnoticed by the irish football world, Andorra 3 - 3 England (https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/54386633).

[seanfhear]

I hope this result did not go unnoticed by the irish football world, Andorra 3 - 3 England (https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/54386633).
Good away draw for the Sasanach !

[pineapple stu]

I hope this result did not go unnoticed by the irish football world, Andorra 3 - 3 England (https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/54386633).
Way ahead of you (https://foot.ie/threads/226822-Unusual-Notable-stuff-from-around-the-football-world?p=2052015#post2052015) :p

[geysir]

Way ahead of you (https://foot.ie/threads/226822-Unusual-Notable-stuff-from-around-the-football-world?p=2052015#post2052015) :p

Only nerds go there.:cool:

[pineapple stu]

I'll pass your comment on to the person who told me :)

[geysir]

Sweden beat Lux 4-0, Lux had a player sent off just 20 minutes into the game, a straight red.

The dices are now loading up in Sweden's favour, but they are at the rear of the chasing pack.

[geysir]

I see there have been a raft of enforced withdrawals from the Italian u21 squad, up to 8 of them. And now there's some talk that the Italian u20 squad will replace their u21 squad and face Ireland tomorrrow. That could augur well, then again the u20s might well be as good if not a better unit.

[Eirambler]

It's the under 20s but I think still with four or five first teamers from the under 21s, so it's not the under 20s really. I'd imagine they'll still be strong, a lot of our players would still be classed as under 20s as well.

[DeLorean]

Am I right in thinking it would take a pretty major disaster for us not to qualify for this now? Three games left, two of them we'll be red hot favourites to win, even if we did lose the reverse v Iceland. How many dropped points out of the nine available could put us in playoff rather than automatic territory, even if we do slip to second place in the group? We've more points than eight of the nine second placed sides as things stand. Of course it's possible that we could drop to third in the group too but that seems very unlikely.

[geysir]

Am I right in thinking it would take a pretty major disaster for us not to qualify for this now? Three games left, two of them we'll be red hot favourites to win, even if we did lose the reverse v Iceland. How many dropped points out of the nine available could put us in playoff rather than automatic territory, even if we do slip to second place in the group? We've more points than eight of the nine second placed sides as things stand. Of course it's possible that we could drop to third in the group too but that seems very unlikely.

Ireland were in a good position before you jinxed it.

[samhaydenjr]

Am I right in thinking it would take a pretty major disaster for us not to qualify for this now? Three games left, two of them we'll be red hot favourites to win, even if we did lose the reverse v Iceland. How many dropped points out of the nine available could put us in playoff rather than automatic territory, even if we do slip to second place in the group? We've more points than eight of the nine second placed sides as things stand. Of course it's possible that we could drop to third in the group too but that seems very unlikely.

Quick update, which I think was mentioned in another thread - no more playoffs due to COVID - it's group winners and five best runners-up (not counting results against sixth-place teams). Right now, I think a draw against Italy and a win against Iceland would be enough to put us through as Romania and Poland, currently ranked second and third of the second-placed teams, would not be able to match our record of seventeen points after taking our Luxembourg results out (Germany, Portugal and Scotland, in fourth, fifth and seventh, still could).

If we lose to Italy and beat Iceland, then we will need a couple of favours elsewhere, which is possible - Poland have to play Bulgaria, who are just behind them in their group; Romania finish their campaign at home to their group-toppers Denmark; Scotland are in a group where four teams are in contention, which could lead to a second-placed team with a lower points record; and perhaps Bosnia or Wales will pull off a shock in Germany.

Anything less than that would probably rule us out, even if we hang on for second place