2023 UEFA Under-21 Championship

I think there’ll probably be some decent young players left out. Generally, Kenny had 22 man squads, so I’ll assume it’s the same with 2 players per position.

GK: Maher and Rose seem 1st and 2nd choice as long as Bazunu is with the seniors.

RB: O’Connor and Lyons seem like obvious choices

CB: With Collins and Omobamadele with the seniors, McGuinness is the first choice, followed by McEntee and Garcia-McNulty. No idea who the fourth choice would be. Could be Bosun Lawal who is primarily a midfielder but is comfortable at centre half, could be Sean Roughan or Lewis Richards who are both probably better at left back but can play centre half as well.

LB: Obviously Bagan is in the squad. Shane Flynn is probably the best bet along with him - but he could drop out altogether. Was thinking about how much Kam Ledwidge’s stock has fallen. He was good at 17s and 19s and started a game or two for Kenny in the last campaign for the 21s. Now he’s playing first division in ireland (not sure how much he’s playing) and even though we’ve called up five or six left backs in this campaign, he hasn’t been one of them. (I suppose the same is almost all technically true for Brandon Kavanagh but it feels as though his pathway has been a bit more steady).

CM: midfield is where it starts to get tricky. There are a few no brainers. Obviously Knight is out, along with Smallbone. You’ve got Coventry who is the captain, then you’ve got Kilkenny who is bordering on the senior side, and Johansson who was name checked. You’ve also got Luca Connell who was very good for the 21s in this campaign. So thats basically 4 primarily deep lying midfielders. You’ve also got Joe Hodge - presume he’s still injured. Further up the pitch you’ve got the likes of Conor Noss and Louis Watson who on the whole have good for the 21s. You’ve also got Finn, who hopefully will finally be involved (though you wouldn’t bet on it). Finally, you’ve got lads like Devoy who has been great for Bohs and Tierney who did well for the 21s in June and Conor Grant who hasn’t done anything wrong. They’re all unlikely to make the squad but unlucky to be left out at the same time.

WG: out wide, you’ve got Ebosele and Ferry who can moonlight as fullbacks on the right and left side respectively, you’ve got Wright as well who’s been more good than bad as finally Okoflex seems like an obvious selection.

FWD: With Idah, Parrott and Connolly with the seniors, Kayode and Afolabi have been the main number 9s without either one convincing entirely but at least they’ve gotten off the mark. Obafemi missed out with the seniors, so he really should be part of the squad but he’s had plenty of injury issues and might also be trying to sort a loan move over the next few days. Beyond that, Ferguson and Moran are both doing well for Brighton. Not really sure if Moran is gonna end up an attacking midfielder or a striker, probably a bit like Parrott was at age 17.

When it comes to the shakeup, I guess I expect it’ll most likely end up this way:

1. Maher
2. Rose
3. O’Connor
4. Lyons
5. McGuinness
6. McEntee
7. Garcia-McNulty
8. Bagan
9. Kilkenny
10. Coventry
11. Johansson
12. Connell
13. Noss
14. Watson
15. Ebosele
16. Wright
17. Ferry
18. Okoflex
19. Afolabi
20. Kayode
21. Moran
22. Ferguson

There’s probably other injuries etc I don’t know about. Perhaps one of the forwards makes way for a 4th centre half. Perhaps Finn or Obafemi make it across the sea. Perhaps there’s a young LOI player who makes the cut... I’ll assume I get 16/22 right

That's a good write up. I think he'll maybe pick 24 or 25 though to fit a few more in. Would think Devoy should get in based on his club form but there will have to be players left out from the summer camp with others coming back in.

Tasty squad too. I was going to say it is strange to see the quality of defenders pale compared to midfield and attack (in terms of talent, probably not relative to age!) but I never accounted for the progression of Omobamidele or Collins!

On that point, the senior squad definitely demonstrates that there is space for some of this under 21 squad if they can produce sustained periods of form. I know there were comments on Kilkenny not being included in the senior squad but I don't see that being too glaring an omission. How about Crawford sticks him into the deeper midfield role for these games and he can perform his own assessment and feed that back to Kenny?

Will be interesting to see which one he doesn't pick out of Coventry, Kilkenny and Johansson, or will he find a way to get them all in the team?

Squad confirmed this morning
No real glaring omissions, maybe Bowden or Connell?

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Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

No real glaring omissions, maybe Bowden or Connell?

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Okoflex and Connell I reckon

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Originally Posted by elatedscum

Okoflex and Connell I reckon

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Okoflex the big disappointment and adds fuel to the fire for those inclined to doubt.

Michael Obafemi is a fairly glaring omission I would have said. When did he last feature in an Ireland team at any age grade though? The Finn-Benoa half in/half out selection is odd also.

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

Michael Obafemi is a fairly glaring omission I would have said. When did he last feature in an Ireland team at any age grade though? The Finn-Benoa half in/half out selection is odd also.

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Think Obafemi played the last two squads for Crawford in the previous campaign, the losses to Italy and Iceland and win against Luxembourg back in October and November 2020.

The four possibilities are: he’s going to sign on loan or permanently between now and the 31st (Blackburn agreed 6m a few weeks ago) and leaving the UK during Covid could delay getting to a medical etc, he’s asked not to be included due to his ongoing hamstring issues, he asked not to be included because he doesn’t want to play 21s or Crawford doesn’t rate him.

Finn is weird alright, maybe he’s awaiting a passport or something or some kinda documents that would make him not yet eligible for a competitive game

Would be surprised if Finn's situation is linked to a passport issue. Irish born dad so should be a straightforward three week job. It reads to me like he's not ready to commit yet and fancies a look around to see what it's like first.

Will Noss & Watson be tied to us if they play?

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

Would be surprised if Finn's situation is linked to a passport issue. Irish born dad so should be a straightforward three week job. It reads to me like he's not ready to commit yet and fancies a look around to see what it's like first.

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Tricky one. Finn is only 17 and soon to be 18 and is back with Getafe's B side. You could offer Moran as a counter (in terms of age and club level- presently) to that and that would fair. But Moran has actually met everyone in the Irish underage set up. It's Finn's first involvement.

I wouldn't be too quick to be casting doubt on his commitment myself. I think it's unfair on the player in this case.

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Originally Posted by IsMiseSean

Will Noss & Watson be tied to us if they play?

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No. Wouldn't even be tied with a senior cap at this stage.

It’s kinda weird during the three previous friendlies Lawal and McNulty were both listed as joining up to train as opposed to being called up and both went on to play.

I wonder if there any limit on the number of players you can call up for a 21s game (in terms of FIFA and the rules regarding international release)

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Originally Posted by elatedscum

It’s kinda weird during the three previous friendlies Lawal and McNulty were both listed as joining up to train as opposed to being called up and both went on to play.

I wonder if there any limit on the number of players you can call up for a 21s game (in terms of FIFA and the rules regarding international release)

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I don't think they were called up to train. They were called up as late replacements.

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Originally Posted by ColourfulPeanut

I don't think they were called up to train. They were called up as late replacements.

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there was a squad list published where it was more explicit as in both players were listed separately with an * but it's also mentioned here https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/lawa...-into-u21-camp

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

No. Wouldn't even be tied with a senior cap at this stage.

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I thought the likes of Kieran Dowell & Conor Gallagher (if eligible) wouldn't be able to switch to us now because they've played competitive U21 games for England.

I'm confused by the new eligibility rules anymore.

The rules change after players turn 21. Both of those players played for England after their 21st birthdays. Unless they held Irish citizenship at the time of their first English underage appearances they're no longer eligible for us.

Watson and Noss are different. Firstly they're both only 20 so it wouldn't tie them anyway. Additionally though, they would have held British and German citizenship respectively before playing for Ireland. So even an under age cap after their 21st birthdays wouldn't tie them. It would have to be senior recognition for those two.

You're right though, it's all a bit of a legal minefield these days.

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

The rules change after players turn 21. Both of those players played for England after their 21st birthdays. Unless they held Irish citizenship at the time of their first English underage appearances they're no longer eligible for us.

Watson and Noss are different. Firstly they're both only 20 so it wouldn't tie them anyway. Additionally though, they would have held British and German citizenship respectively before playing for Ireland. So even an under age cap after their 21st birthdays wouldn't tie them. It would have to be senior recognition for those two.

You're right though, it's all a bit of a legal minefield these days.

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Thanks very helpful explanation

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Originally Posted by Olé Olé

Tricky one. Finn is only 17 and soon to be 18 and is back with Getafe's B side. You could offer Moran as a counter (in terms of age and club level- presently) to that and that would fair. But Moran has actually met everyone in the Irish underage set up. It's Finn's first involvement.

I wouldn't be too quick to be casting doubt on his commitment myself. I think it's unfair on the player in this case.

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I had a look around Getafe's website a few weeks ago, which was up to date, and they had him linked to their main youth team, not even the B team.

I could be very wrong about this, but isn't Finn's father deceased? If that was the case and the lad didn't have an Irish passport then it would probably complicate the process as you'd need additional information.

Having him over but not in the official squad points to him not having international clearance.

It's a really good squad - good shouts elatedscum - and little contentious issues. Luca Connell can't really have any complaints to be left out when he's effectively playing LSL level football, compared to Coventry, Johansson, Kilkenny and Devoy.
I wouldn't have Obafemi in this side nevermind the international side, and I think it's mad that anyone would consider using that omission as a stick to beat Crawford with.

I don't know anything about O'Neill.