Republic of Ireland Under-21s Manager Jim Crawford has named a 26-man squad for a triple-header of friendlies against Switzerland, Australia and Denmark in Marbella, Spain. Called-up are seven new faces to the U21s with Sevilla’s Ryan Johansson included after he was declared eligible to play for Ireland following clearance from FIFA. He is joined by Getafe’s John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa who is selected in his first Ireland international squad. Sheffield Wendesday's Ciaran Brennan, Derby County’s Festy Ebosele and Lincoln City’s Sean Roughan get the U21s call for the first time as does UCD striker and League of Ireland First Division top scorer Colm Whelan. Dan Rose of Schalke 04, who was included in the initial squad ahead of the Wales friendly in March but was unable to travel due to Covid-19 restrictions, will join his first U21 camp. The games will form part of the U21s preparation for their 2023 European Championship qualifiers against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Luxembourg in September.
Ireland’s game with Denmark on Saturday, June 5 (which kicks-off at 17:00pm)
Republic of Ireland squad - Switzerland, Australia, Denmark
Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers),
Dan Rose (Schalke 04)
Defenders: Ciaran Brennan (Sheffield Wednesday), Festy Ebosele (Derby County), Shane Flynn (Leicester City), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Oisin McEntee (Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness (Arsenal), Lewis Richards (Wolves), Sean Roughan (Lincoln City).
Midfielders: John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa (Getafe), Luca Connell (Celtic), Conor Coventry (West Ham United), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Alex Gilbert (Brentford), Conor Grant (Rochdale), Ryan Johansson (Sevilla), Conor Noss (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Louie Watson (Derby County).
Forwards: Jonathan Afolabi (Celtic), Will Ferry (Southampton), Joshua ‘JJ’ Kayode (Rotherham United), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Colm Whelan (UCD), Tyreik Wright (Aston Villa).
Fixtures - International Friendlies (all times are Irish times)
- Switzerland v Republic of Ireland, May 30, KO 11:00, Dama de Noche Football Centre, Marbella, Spain
- Australia v Republic of Ireland, June 2, KO 12:00, Marbella Football Centre, Marbella, Spain.
- Republic of Ireland v Denmark, June 5, KO 17:00, Dama de Noche Football Centre, Marbella, Spain.
