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Ireland is full of exciting young talent that plays across various leagues around the world. The
Republic Of Ireland U21 squad has been revealed and boasts several names that are on the rise. It's
an exciting young squad that features players from La Liga, Bundesliga, and the Premier League.
After the reign of Stephen Kenny, Jim Crawford took care when he assembled his 26-man squad.
They have spent the last few matches preparing for the European U21 Championship qualifiers, which will begin on September 3rd against Bosnia & Herzegovina.
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Although friendlies aren't the most important games in terms of achievements, they're crucial to get
an idea of the various things the team may need to achieve success. This is a chance for Crawford
to see how well players gel together, and which system will be best suited when combining their
talents.
Amongst those called up are seven new additions to the squad. Brilliant any design Jerseys can be purchased here.
One such player is Sevilla's Ryan
Johnson, who only recently gained clearance from FIFA to play for Ireland, whilst also being deemed
able to play for Sweden or Luxembourg. Alongside Johnson, John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa has been
selected. He's played six times for Getafe in La Liga this year and is a very highly rated player for his
age.
When asked for a statement on the upcoming matches, Crawford said that the team was determined
to get many games in the June international window. This is so the players have the best possible
preparation for qualifiers. So far, the results are mixed but there is some potential for great things.
The team lost against Denmark U21 with a 0:1 result on 5th June, however, the week before they
beat Australia by 1:2.
Having this news has reportedly been a boost for the manager, who hopes to really test out his
team's ability against the varied opposition he will be facing, as he stated, “It is excellent news that
this has been confirmed". Each of the three teams presents a variety of challenges to overcome, and
it's certainly a good chance for the players to test the waters.
This is an interesting time to get an idea of the upcoming talent that Ireland has to offer. The
international season is highly competitive and features many much-watched games around the
world. For many of the young players, this will be a brand new experience. The tournament is a
prime example of how international football can connect nations from around the world at such a
young age. For example, despite India never competing in the finals of the World Cup, there is still
huge popularity and interest represented on websites such as asiabet.org, where football betting is
very popular. There are guides to help new fans get involved with the community, explaining the
various types of odds formats, along with information about the sites on offer. When it comes to
international football, the world truly is the stage.
With all the excitement at the prospect of these upcoming games, will Jim Crawford deliver? A
former player himself, no one can deny that he had a successful career. He began his career playing
for Rangers AFC (Dublin) and went on to represent teams such as Newcastle United and Reading,
before finishing his time as a player at Sporting Fingal.
However, his career was marked with injuries, and he stated that he feels this blighted his potential.
In 2008 he took over as Shamrock Rovers head coach, and then in 2016, he took up the position at
the Republic Of Ireland U18s.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full Time | Australia 1-2
Ireland ��������<br><br>A great win for Jim Crawford&#39;s Under-21s who left it late to win it
thanks to a debut goal from Ross Tierney<a
href=https://twitter.com/hashtag/COYBIG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#COYBIG</a> | <a
href=https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSIRL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#AUSIRL</a> | <a
href=https://twitter.com/hashtag/IRLU21?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#IRLU21</a> <a
href=https://t.co/miWKpbIocF>pic.twitter.com/miWKpbIocF</a></p>&mdash;
FAIreland ⚽️���� (@FAIreland) <a
href=https://twitter.com/FAIreland/status/1400075003819929601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>June 2,
2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset="utf-
8"></script>
It was just last year that he was announced as the U21 successor to Stephen Kenny, and it's clear
that the Republic Of Ireland board sees something special in Crawford. Perhaps he has a unique
ability to get the best out of young players, which is something most fans undoubtedly hope for. It
would be refreshing to see the youth teams cement themselves as a force to be reckoned with, and
eventually transfer that vibrancy into the Men's International Squad.
Previously, Crawford emphasized the importance of having a run of games within the summer to
establish certain things and get the best results.
He said: “I saw how the Toulon Tournament in 2019 gave a lot of the players involved in the U21s a
platform for their club form and the confidence to go play at this level. Having these games in
Marbella gives us an opportunity to give a talented group match minutes and a chance to come
together over 10 days, work hard, work on our style of play and get ready for September.”
Let's hope that it goes to plan. Regardless, fans have a lot to look forward to this summer.
