A very strong team.
The latest Ireland Under 21 squad announcement features some big names, and gives us a hint as to who may be picked in Stephen Kenny’s squad vs France.
Tom Cannon was rewarded for his strong form in the Championship with his first Ireland Under 21 call up, amid speculation he may have been thrown straight in the deep end and given a senior appearance.
Festy Ebosele also makes the squad, as he begins to get more and more gametime over in Italy with Udinese.
Another notable inclusion is Joe Hodge, who has started a number of Premier League and cup games for Wolves this season, impressing on the biggest stage against the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea.
Ireland Under 21 squad
CONFIRMED | Ireland U21 squad for International Friendly with Iceland in Cork ☘️
A first Ireland call-up for @Official_NCFC Tiernan Brooks 👏
🇮🇪 v 🇮🇸
📍| Turner’s Cross, Cork
📆 | Sunday, March 26
⌚️| KO 4pm🗞️🎟️ 👉 https://t.co/A888Yhy5o9#IRLU21 | #COYBIG | #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/Gz00ApeNrK
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 15, 2023
While this is a strong squad selected by Jim Crawford, one can’t help but wonder how good it would look if it wasn’t for the amount of youngsters who have already been blooded into Kenny’s senior squad.
The likes of Gavin Bazunu, Troy Parrott, Nathan Collins and more could all feature in this squad despite their wealth of experience, and many thought Parrott could have been selected for this squad.
With Cannon seemingly ahead of Parrott in the pecking order at Preston, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see Kenny take a risk on the Antrim man, but it’s also understandable to see the manager go with a more experienced international player who has scored goals at senior level.
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