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Republic of Ireland Under-21 Futsal squad announced

27 March 2008

 
John Perkins Shamrock Rovers   
Lloyd Massey Bray Wanderers   
Mark Langtry Shamrock Rovers   
Neil Harkin Derry City   
Brendan Dawson Shelbourne    
Shane O'Neill Bray Wanderers   
Dane Massey Bray Wanderers   
Alan Lynch Longford Town   
Philip McDonagh Bohemians   
Ian Byrne Bohemians   
Cathal Lordan Cork City   
Keith Gallagher Bluebell United   
Craig Duggan Cork City   
Cian McBrien Galway United 


The Qualifying matches to be played in Andorra are as follows:

Tuesday April 8th 2008:                    
Holland V Republic of Ireland                                               

Wednesday April 9th 2008:   
Andorra V Republic of Ireland                                   

Friday April 11th 2008:                     
Republic of Ireland V Azerbaijan

The squad recently completed a warm up tour to Barcelona where they recorded two victories, most notably a 2-0 win over FC Barcelona senior B team.

FAI Futsal Coordinator, Derek O'Neill said:

"This tournament is a journey into unchartered waters for us in many respects. It is the first ever UEFA Under-21Futsal tournament and the Republic of Ireland's first ever appearance at an official Futsal competition. The teams we've been drawn with such as Holland and Andorra have a comparatively long Futsal tradition. Azerbaijan is one of the new emerging Futsal nations and their recent results have been impressive.

Our players are relatively very new to the game of Futsal and this competition represents an opportunity to gauge the progress we have been making over the last year or so. While it will be a tough task to qualify as group winner for the finals in Russia later this year, I'm quietly optimistic that the players have the required technique and mentality to make a positive impression in Andorra."

The group winner will qualify for the UEFA Under-21 Futsal Finals in St. Petersburgh, Russia in December 2008.

 

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