2023 UEFA Under-21 Championship [Archive] - Page 14

geysir

14/06/2022, 5:37 PM

As Richie pointed out this was a tough group, Ireland were pitted with the best or better teams from each pot and came through to the play offs with a game to spare. Sweden were beaten by same score by Italy in the last game of 2020 qual group and Italy had already topped the group.
No excuses or papering over for that sloppy performance but overall imo Ireland are performing as a solid bone fide 2nd pot team.

centre mid

14/06/2022, 5:53 PM

Disappointing end to the group but overall its been pretty good. Italy were the best team in the group by some distance. Wright was very poor, Ferguson is a phenomenal prospect.

liamoo11

14/06/2022, 5:59 PM

Disappointing end to the group but overall its been pretty good. Italy were the best team in the group by some distance. Wright was very poor, Ferguson is a phenomenal prospect.

Yeah Wright needs to find a way to turn himself into a left wing back you woukd think if he is to have a career at a good level.

Eirambler

14/06/2022, 6:02 PM

I don't see Wright making it at a high level to be honest. And I'm not just basing that on tonight. Ferry should probably be in the squad ahead of him to be honest.

passinginterest

14/06/2022, 6:15 PM

I generally like Wright. He�s got a bit of a wild card about him, pace, skill and can deliver a decent cross. Had a poor game today and looked a bit tired. Wouldn�t rule him out making it to at least Championship level.

They�ll be very disappointed with the manner of the goals conceded. McGinness giving away a sloppy penalty and then no communicating well with Maher. He�s usually a solid defender but that�s a poor day for him. Didn�t really think Cashin was great beside him either.

The change to 3 at the back in second half didn�t really work, looked like they hadn�t trained it and the 3 were getting cut open very easily. Ferguson had a thankless task for most of the game, he showed glimpses of his talent and for his age he�s a massive talent. The dribble into the box before he came off was a real glimpse at his abilities. He was probably trying to do too much which was pulling him wide too often.

Nesta99

14/06/2022, 6:53 PM

I think this is probably a good indicator of where we think we are in terms of underage coming through. You want to be standing out in these games to be making a name for yourself and giving yourself a chance in the big leagues. The only one who stands out is Maher and not for the right reasons. I'd be worried if this is what we're hoping to fill up the senior ranks in the next few years.

It is also an indicator of where supporters think we are or should be. We are living off almost ancient history if we dont see getting a play-off as an achievement. We could still reach the finals obviously and would be a first. What I am liking is seeing a system or style of playing that is consistent with other underage sides and the senior side. We are talking about kids really, they will develop at different rates and it was said by Sadlier I think, that the development from the start of the group to now is notable. That we didnt crumble when up against lads that are valued at €22m, 8m or whatever, before a ball is kicked, is indicative of a team being built that are confident as a team and arguably better than sides relying on wonderkids to carry things. The goals conceded were self inflicted and can be coached out of a side in tandem with player development. I will take that as we werent totally carved open by a vastly superior side that you just go 'wow'! Those young lads were disappointed at the result and that speaks volumes imo.

BOOMSHAKALAKA

14/06/2022, 9:57 PM

Disappointing result and display. I wouldn't get too disappointed though. Some players will make the breakthrough from this group. Qualifying for tournaments at this grade is just a bonus. Seeing players develop is the main aim.

Razors left peg

15/06/2022, 4:48 AM

I think this is probably a good indicator of where we think we are in terms of underage coming through. You want to be standing out in these games to be making a name for yourself and giving yourself a chance in the big leagues. The only one who stands out is Maher and not for the right reasons. I'd be worried if this is what we're hoping to fill up the senior ranks in the next few years.

I couldn't disagree with this any stronger. Today was not a good indicator of this team or these players. Gave away stupid goals that killed this game very early on and in high temperatures you could see that the players faded with the goals.

There has been a number of players in this group who have stood out over the whole campaign and there's a reason we are in the playoff for 1st time in our history. There will be probably 5 or 6 players from this squad that will go on to be senior internationals and be very good players for us. I think Evan Ferguson will be the absolute standout.

This is the type of comment I would expect to see on the RTE Facebook comment section from a fella who only tunes in to watch football the odd time

CSAD

15/06/2022, 9:42 AM

I couldn't disagree with this any stronger. Today was not a good indicator of this team or these players. Gave away stupid goals that killed this game very early on and in high temperatures you could see that the players faded with the goals.

There has been a number of players in this group who have stood out over the whole campaign and there's a reason we are in the playoff for 1st time in our history. There will be probably 5 or 6 players from this squad that will go on to be senior internationals and be very good players for us. I think Evan Ferguson will be the absolute standout.

This is the type of comment I would expect to see on the RTE Facebook comment section from a fella who only tunes in to watch football the odd time

Plus if you look at Italy if you take Luxembourg out of the equation at home they only beat Montenegro & Bosnia 1-0 each and drew with Sweden. That should tell you this 4-1 result is an outlier rather than the rule. It was just one of those days where **** hits the fan and things go horribly wrong, that can happen at u21 level. The most important aspect of judging the is team is the trend they�ve been on and that trend has been very positive regardless of the result of one game.

Eirambler

15/06/2022, 11:04 AM

Probably the most frustrating thing in this group is that if we hadn't messed up in Montenegro we'd have qualified automatically as the best second place team, even with the two losses to Italy.

pineapple stu

15/06/2022, 4:23 PM

Flip side is that Sweden were seconds away from a draw in Tallaght which would have seen them through instead.

Swings and roundabouts.

geysir

16/06/2022, 1:31 AM

Flip side is that Sweden were seconds away from a draw in Tallaght which would have seen them through instead.

Swings and roundabouts.
Not really, Sweden had the opportunity to make amends at home and they failed. Not swings and roundabouts per se, Ireland outdid Sweden, the point Eirambler made was that we could have finished a better 2nd with just a little bit more.

CSAD

16/06/2022, 2:50 AM

The flip side is Ireland missing penalties cost them 4 points, those 4 points were the difference between needing a win and needing a draw away to Italy on the final day.

pineapple stu

16/06/2022, 7:27 AM

Not really, Sweden had the opportunity to make amends at home and they failed. Not swings and roundabouts per se, Ireland outdid Sweden, the point Eirambler made was that we could have finished a better 2nd with just a little bit more.

Well, yes really. You can almost always pick moments in a campaign that change it on its head. I don't think it's balanced to only pick the ones that would have benefitted us.

That we had to play Sweden again is irrelevant; had they held on for 30 seconds more in Tallaght, we'd have finished third. And that was closer to happening than us winning in Montenegro

Yes, we could have been a better second place with a small bit extra. But we could equally have been third by that same margin

Swings and roundabouts

geysir

17/06/2022, 2:34 AM

Well, yes really. You can almost always pick moments in a campaign that change it on its head. I don't think it's balanced to only pick the ones that would have benefitted us.

That we had to play Sweden again is irrelevant; had they held on for 30 seconds more in Tallaght, we'd have finished third. And that was closer to happening than us winning in Montenegro

Yes, we could have been a better second place with a small bit extra. But we could equally have been third by that same margin

Swings and roundabouts
Eh no, you are totally missing the point, the fallacious point was offered that we were fortunate to beat Sweden at home therefore also fortunate to finish the table in 2nd place, but this is a group campaign where teams play home and away. After beating Sweden at home whether fortunate or not, we then went to Sweden and beat them in Sweden. There's no equally 'could have been third' that's total bull, when you go to their home town and beat them for a second time fair and square, that says it all. Absolutely earned 2nd place and ridiculous to refer to that fortunate home result, Sweden had their chance to rectify matters and they failed.

CSAD

17/06/2022, 8:32 AM

And the reality is Ireland dropped 4-5 points they shouldn�t have meaning if anything Sweden were fortunate they even were in the running at all in June.

pineapple stu

17/06/2022, 9:23 AM

Absolutely earned 2nd place and ridiculous to refer to that fortunate home result
No, you're still missing the point.

I'm not arguing we didn't deserve or earn second place.

I am saying that you can't really say "If only we had beaten Montenegro, we would have been the best second placed team and qualified automatically" (as Eirambler did) without also acknowledging that we benefitted at key moments of our own along the way. And they tend to balance out (hence "swings and roundabouts"). We could equally have done better than we did or worse than we did, but we deserved to finish where we did in the end.

tetsujin1979

21/06/2022, 9:42 AM

Draw today at 12, live streamed on uefa.com - https://www.uefa.com/under21/news/026b-12cb20ec41e8-8d8722b03835-1000--play-off-draw-live-at-13-00-cet/
no seedings, straight draw
home and away ties to be played in September

joey B

21/06/2022, 11:10 AM

Ireland v Israel,home first…

Ol� Ol�

21/06/2022, 11:27 AM

Ireland v Israel,home first�

Second to Germany and ahead of Poland and Hungary. A point ahead of Poland with one more win. They took 4 points off Poland and 6 off Hungary. Seems like Liel Abada player a couple of games in qualification but I assume seniors took precedence for him as he wasn't in their squad for June qualifiers.

tetsujin1979

21/06/2022, 11:27 AM

Almost identical record to ourselves in their qualification group, they did score three more
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_UEFA_European_Under-21_Championship_qualification_Group_B

Diggs246

21/06/2022, 11:30 AM

that must be a v good draw!!

Eirambler

21/06/2022, 11:50 AM

As good as we could have hoped for I think. Though they will probably be saying the same thing. Croatia and Denmark drawing each other opened the draw up nicely for everyone else.

CSAD

22/06/2022, 9:58 AM

As good as we could have hoped for I think. Though they will probably be saying the same thing. Croatia and Denmark drawing each other opened the draw up nicely for everyone else.

I also think a lot of fans from the continent just don�t rate the Celtic nations when it comes to football, just from looking back.

Trequartista20

25/06/2022, 9:07 AM

The UCD manager Andy Myler has confirmed that Liam Kerrigan is to join Serie B side Como 1907.

I like him as a player. It'll be interesting to see how he does.

ltfc_2004

17/08/2022, 10:11 AM

Presale for the 1st leg went on sale this morning. Great value at €10

elatedscum

15/09/2022, 2:11 PM

tommy_c12000

15/09/2022, 2:23 PM

Strong squad with the exception of goalkeepers. We should have enough to beat Israel over two legs, as long as keeper makes no mistakes.

jbyrne

15/09/2022, 2:38 PM

Tayo Adaramola is probably a bit hard done by. He was good in his last game he played and with Bagan injured, you’d think he had eyes on starting. Andy Lyons perhaps the one to get the nod?

yes, was very impressed with him in June v montenegro

Jd2793

15/09/2022, 2:43 PM

might be the only one but i dont see it with tyreik wright. hes been a regular pretty much so it's probably harsh not to include him but i was surprised they've dropped young burns already.

Jd2793

15/09/2022, 2:46 PM

Squad announced:

https://twitter.com/faireland/status/1570404572115476481?s=21

Connolly coming back is the big surprise. I think injuries are: McEntee, Bagan, Kilkenny, Noss.

Keepers and centre halves straight forward.

Tayo Adaramola is probably a bit hard done by. He was good in his last game he played and with Bagan injured, you’d think he had eyes on starting. Andy Lyons perhaps the one to get the nod?

Midfieldwise, hadn’t heard of Azaz till now. Connell an obvious replacement for Kilkenny. Not that he really deserves to be there, but I feel really sorry for Ryan Johansson. Made such an effort to switch and has basically been forgotten.

Maher

O’Connor
McGuinness
Bagan
Lyons

Coventry
Smallbone
Tierney

Ebosele/Kerrigan
Ferguson/Odubeko/Kayode
Connolly/Wright/O’Neill

johanssons career isnt going well on the face of things. less than 400 mins last year on loan with fortuna sittard, back as a bench player with sevillas b team. looking like he'd be best served with a move to get him some first team football

JR89

15/09/2022, 3:17 PM

Squad announced:

https://twitter.com/faireland/status/1570404572115476481?s=21

Connolly coming back is the big surprise. I think injuries are: McEntee, Bagan, Kilkenny, Noss.

Keepers and centre halves straight forward.

Tayo Adaramola is probably a bit hard done by. He was good in his last game he played and with Bagan injured, you�d think he had eyes on starting. Andy Lyons perhaps the one to get the nod?

Midfieldwise, hadn�t heard of Azaz till now. Connell an obvious replacement for Kilkenny. Not that he really deserves to be there, but I feel really sorry for Ryan Johansson. Made such an effort to switch and has basically been forgotten.

Maher

O�Connor
McGuinness
Bagan
Lyons

Coventry
Smallbone
Tierney

Ebosele/Kerrigan
Ferguson/Odubeko/Kayode
Connolly/Wright/O�Neill

Azaz won League Two player of the year last season and was mentioned at the time he was Irish eligible. Turns out he's eligible to play for Israel too. An attacking midfielder so interesting to see if Crawford is feeling optimistic an throws him in from the start with Coventry and Smallbone or starts the midfield three you mentioned.

Interesting that he's named four CBs with Roughan also being able to play LCB so could pull a surprise and use 3-5-2 again. Though was more 5-4-1 away to Sweden.

elatedscum

15/09/2022, 3:27 PM

Azaz won League Two player of the year last season and was mentioned at the time he was Irish eligible. Turns out he's eligible to play for Israel too. An attacking midfielder so interesting to see if Crawford is feeling optimistic an throws him in from the start with Coventry and Smallbone or starts the midfield three you mentioned.

Interesting that he's named four CBs with Roughan also being able to play LCB so could pull a surprise and use 3-5-2 again. Though was more 5-4-1 away to Sweden.

Could see him going to a 5-3-2 for the away leg if we come away with a win. If we were playing that, I�d be tempted to start Festy on the right, it�d be very tough on Lee O�Connor but seems mad not to use Festy as well

nigel-harps1954

15/09/2022, 4:21 PM

Squad announced:

Tayo Adaramola is probably a bit hard done by. He was good in his last game he played and with Bagan injured, you�d think he had eyes on starting. Andy Lyons perhaps the one to get the nod?

Midfieldwise, hadn�t heard of Azaz till now. Connell an obvious replacement for Kilkenny. Not that he really deserves to be there, but I feel really sorry for Ryan Johansson. Made such an effort to switch and has basically been forgotten.

Adaramola is probably victim to a lack of game time. Lyons having a cracking season and performing in Conference League at the minute, versus a shambles of a loan spell at Coventry for Adaramola.

Johansson is another who's just dropped like a stone, and doesn't really deserve a place currently. Sevilla B are in the fourth tier of Spanish football, which is regionalised into five separate divisions. Even the third tier is split into two sections there now. 82 teams above their division. He'd do well to get a move away.

Razors left peg

15/09/2022, 4:30 PM

JR89

15/09/2022, 4:54 PM

Could see him going to a 5-3-2 for the away leg if we come away with a win. If we were playing that, I�d be tempted to start Festy on the right, it�d be very tough on Lee O�Connor but seems mad not to use Festy as well

He won't drop O'Connor. Especially if the change in formation was tactical to help defend any lead we've got going into the second game.

tetsujin1979

16/09/2022, 6:32 PM

Israel squad was announced yesterday
https://www.football.org.il/magazine/?itemid=%7BFFD7A250-9393-4CDE-8844-CCD7F1591E13%7D
(Passing through Google translate)

Goalkeepers:
Daniel Peretz, Omer Niraon, Sharif Kiuf

Defense:
Noam Melmud, Ziv Morgan, Gil Cohen, Itai Ben Shabat, Karem Jaber, Stav Lemkin, Roy Herman, Zohar Zasno, Yuval Sade

Midfield:
Muhammad Kanaan, Bar Cohen, Hisham Laios, El Yam Kanzpolsky, Tai Abed, Yoav Hoffmeister, Adir Levy, Ido Shahar, Oscar Gloch

Attack:
Stav Nachmani, Idan Toklomati, Usher Davida.

Eirambler

16/09/2022, 8:48 PM

Good to see Abada and a couple of other players with senior caps left out. Israel do have a big advantage over us here though in that their second senior game is a friendly, so they can drop the likes of Abada down to the under 21s for the second leg if they want to.

It has the feel of one where we could do with a 2 goal or more lead from the first leg to take to Israel.

samhaydenjr

17/09/2022, 2:29 AM

might be the only one but i dont see it with tyreik wright. hes been a regular pretty much so it's probably harsh not to include him but i was surprised they've dropped young burns already.

Im with you, I dont see much in him at all. Very average player

And yet he's our joint top-scorer in the campaign with three. I know he hasn't featured in the campaign but, my word, Sinclair Armstrong has burst onto the scene in recent weeks. He really would be one to throw on in the last twenty minutes if we're chasing a goal.

nigel-harps1954

17/09/2022, 10:55 AM

Armstrong is probably unfortunate not to be named in the 21s squad this time around. While he's only getting ten minutes here and there, it's semi regular game time at a high level and probably warranted a call into the 21s.

CSAD

17/09/2022, 12:00 PM

Not just Armstrong but even players like Costello who�s played a decent chunk of time in the championship for a high flying team at that. I find it odd how these guys are left out and yet players like Wright who�s in L2 is in the squad.

tommy_c12000

17/09/2022, 12:28 PM

Hard to argue for Costello or Armstrong as being must haves in the squad, they�ve barely dipped their toes in senior football. Costello clearly was raw in his couple of burnley starts, hasn't had a look in since reinforcements came in. Okoflex has 30 minutes in total of English senior football�

Agree on general sentiment on Wright. He has never impressed me and hasn�t set it alight in lower leagues. But manager must like him and has a lot more senior football experience, and not too many compelling alternatives, Burns still hasn�t lit it up regularly in league one, his league cup appearances have been excellent but he has a long way to go yet.

JR89

17/09/2022, 12:43 PM

They're talking about Sinclair Armstrong whose been have positive impacts from the bench with QPR not Okoflex Armstrong.

tommy_c12000

17/09/2022, 12:50 PM

Ah my bad, hadn�t read the full thread. Yes Armstrong I guess is an interesting one. Pretty strong forward line now with Connolly, Ferguson there. Odubeko has a long way to go in my book from development but at least he�s starting in league one and has scored. I�d have Armstrong in ahead of Kayode who I don�t see going anywhere quickly, did okay in league two, never has had much of a look in at rotherham, at MK Dons now and hasn�t had much of a look in yet although he�s barely been there. Armstrong has a higher ceiling for sure - unfortunately he lost 6 months of development when his loan in the conference was cut short last year, awful decision as I highlighted at the time. May have been in a different place right now if he had completed the full loan spell

JR89

17/09/2022, 12:57 PM

Neither Connolly or Kerrigan are involved in their match day squads today so could be injury related.

elatedscum

18/09/2022, 5:49 PM

How stupid is it that the u21 away game overlaps with the senior game against Armenia?

21s game starts at 6.15pm. Senior game starts at 7.45pm. So the last 20 mins will overlap. Plus good luck trying to watch the game and travel to Lansdowne Road at the same time. And then the real issue is, RTE have shown the last number of key 21s away games - but for them, for any broadcaster, does it make sense to pay for the stream if the viewership is cut like that... So might not even be shown on TV

JR89

18/09/2022, 6:07 PM

That 6.15pm has likely changed as the FAI website has it as a 7pm kick off on the article with the squad announcement.

https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/crawford-names-u21s-squad-for-israel-play-offs

elatedscum

18/09/2022, 6:38 PM

Andy Lyons and Brian Maher both picked up knocks in the last 3 mins of the Derry-Rovers game. Something to watch out for anyway...

JR89

19/09/2022, 10:13 AM

Mark McGuiness, David Harrington, Liam Kerrigan, and Luca Connell ruled out through injury and replaced by Garcia MacNulty, David Odumosu, Dara Costello, and Adam O'Reilly.

tommy_c12000

23/09/2022, 9:32 PM

Strong squad with the exception of goalkeepers. We should have enough to beat Israel over two legs, as long as keeper makes no mistakes.

Didn?t see tonight?s game due to my location unfortunately. Disappointing result. Maher cost us yet again it seems, such a shame we are so weak in this position given the quality elsewhere. Who impressed? Hopefully should have too much for them in Tel Aviv, barring another keeper error