Republic of Ireland under-21s manager Jim Crawford has named his squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Luxembourg and Montenegro.
Crawford has named a squad of 24 players for the game against Luxembourg in Tallaght on October 8th but the Ireland boss has an extended squad on standby for the trip to Montenegro on October 12th.
Montenegro is currently on the UK and German red list so Crawford may opt to bring a squad of home-based players only due to current Covid-19 travel restrictions. Montenegro is currently not on Ireland’s red list.
Under the current guidelines in Britain and Germany, any UK or German-based Ireland Under-21 player would be forced to undergo a period in quarantine before returning to their clubs if they travel to Montenegro for the second game of this international window.
FIFA, the Premier League and the English Football League have appealed to the UK Government to relax these rules for professional footballers on international duty this month and the FAI is working closely with their colleagues at The FA on this developing story.
As the FAI awaits a possible ruling in the UK, the extended squad for Montenegro includes 13 home-based players called up for the first time.
Ireland have four points from their opening two games in Group F following a 2-0 win away to Bosnia Herzegovina and 1-1 draw in Luxembourg last month.
Republic of Ireland Under-21s squad for Luxembourg U21
Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Bury Town, on loan from Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), David Odumosu (Drogheda United)
Defenders: Joel Bagan (Cardiff City), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Oisin McEntee (Greenock Morton, on loan from Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness (Cardiff City), Jake O’Brien (Crystal Palace), Lee O’Connor (Tranmere Rovers, on loan from Celtic)
Midfielders: Conor Coventry (Peterborough United, on loan from West Ham United), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Alex Gilbert (Swindon Town, on loan from Brentford), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Conor Noss (Borussia Möchengladbach), Ross Tierney (Bohemians), Louie Watson (Derby County)
Forwards: Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Will Ferry (Crawley Town, on loan from Southampton), Joshua ‘JJ’ Kayode (Rotherham United), Liam Kerrigan (UCD), Andrew Moran (Brighton and Hove Albion), Ollie O’Neill (Fulham), Tyreik Wright (Salford City, on loan from Aston Villa), Colm Whelan (UCD)
Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad for Montenegro U21 (pending UK/German Covid-19 travel restrictions)
Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Bury Town, on loan from Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), David Odumosu (Drogheda United)
Defenders: Joel Bagan (Cardiff City), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Oisin McEntee (Greenock Morton, on loan from Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness (Cardiff City), Jake O’Brien (Crystal Palace), Lee O’Connor (Tranmere Rovers, on loan from Celtic), Ronan Boyce (Derry City), Kameron Ledwidge (Shelbourne) Josh Honohan (Cork City), Alex Murphy (Galway United), Niall O’Keefe (Waterford), Andrew Quinn (Bray Wanderers, on loan from Dundalk), Evan Weir (UCD)
Midfielders: Conor Coventry (Peterborough United, on loan from West Ham United), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Alex Gilbert (Swindon Town, on loan from Brentford), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Conor Noss (Borussia Möchengladbach), Ross Tierney (Bohemians), Louie Watson (Derby County), Evan McLaughlin (Derry City), Niall Morahan (Sligo Rovers), Darragh Nugent (Longford Town, on loan from Shamrock Rovers), Killian Phillips (Drogheda United)
Forwards: Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Will Ferry (Crawley Town, on loan from Southampton), Joshua ‘JJ’ Kayode (Rotherham United), Liam Kerrigan (UCD), Andrew Moran (Brighton and Hove Albion), Ollie O’Neill (Fulham), Tyreik Wright (Salford City, on loan from Aston Villa), Colm Whelan (UCD), Johnny Kenny (Sligo), Brandon Kavanagh (Bray Wanderers, on loan from Shamrock Rovers), Cian Kavanagh (Waterford), Dean Williams (Longford Town, on loan from Shamrock Rovers)
UEFA Under-21 European Championship Qualifiers – Group F
Friday, October 8th | Republic of Ireland U21 v Luxembourg U21, Tallaght Stadium, KO 5.15pm
Tuesday, October 12th | Montenegro U21 v Republic of Ireland U21, Gradski Stadion, Podgorica, KO 4.30pm (Irish time)
