Squad for U 20 World Cup

[Hung Daddy]

How come Eamonn Zayed isn't included, he's a fierce player, Also, can we watch the championships on TV, Eurosport usually show that kind of crap

[A face]

Bray express shock over Zayed omission

First Division promotion hopefuls Bray Wanderers have expressed shock at the decision of Irish under-20 team manager Gerry Smith to drop Eamon Zayed from the squad for this month’s World Youth Cup finals in the United Arab Emirates.

Zayed was named in the original 20-man squad for the tournament in March, which was postponed due to the war in Iraq.

And with Smith’s second announcement closely mirroring that selection, Zayed was the only player to be dropped by the team management.

Read more at www.eleven-a-side.com

[Roo69]

Not an easy job – Smith

Irish under-20 team manager Gerry Smith has said that the task of finalising his selection for the World Youth Cup was a difficult one, with several players entitled to feel disappointed with not making the final travelling party.

A couple of difficult decisions had to be made, with Kevin Doyle of Cork City edging out Bolton Wanderers striker Jonathan Walters (who scored two goals on his under-21 international debut against the Swiss three weeks ago) and Bray Wanderers front man Eamon Zayed.

The WYC finals had to be postponed from March to November due to the prevailing crisis in the Gulf area earlier in the year, and Zayed, heartbreakingly, was the only available member of the original squad selected in February to miss out this time.

Smith used 27 players in friendlies against the Czech Republic in September and Italy on Wednesday, games which yielded 3-0 and 2-0 victories for the Irish sides.

But both those games were used for experimental purposes, and for one reason or another did not include some players who were considered certainties to make the trip to the Middle East, such as Sunderland first-teamer Sean Thornton and Spurs defender Stephen Kelly, who has been acquitting himself well on loan at First Division Watford over the past month.

Ireland qualified for the finals by virtue of a fourth-placed finish at the Uefa under-19 championships in Norway in the summer of 2002, and Smith revealed that he had tried to remain faithful to the players who had brought Ireland to the finals.

He said: “It was very, very difficult. “I have tried to pick the squad in the fairest way I could. We had a long list of contenders and it was not easy to leave anyone out.”

“There were a few disappointments. There was very little to choose between all of the lads, but we tried to pick it honestly and fairly.

“I have tried to stay as close to the players who got us to the finals and I hope I’ve got it right. I know players will be disappointed but I also hope they will understand that not everyone could be included. It was not an easy job.”