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The Republic of Ireland Under 19s will continue their quest to reach the UEFA European Championships by taking part in three Elite Round qualifiers in Belgium.
Paired with Belgium, Italy and Sweden in Group 7, Ireland must finish as group winners to qualify for the finals.
The plan is to go all of the way to the finals in Georgia, which will be held in July, but Mohan knows just how difficult that task will be considering the quality of the opponents in their group.
‘The aim is to qualify, and to qualify we’ll have to top the group. We’ve done a lot of analysis on all the teams in the group, but at the moment our big focus is on Italy. We can’t look beyond the first game.
‘We will be doing our utmost to add to what has already been a fantastic week for Irish underage football following the success of the boys and girls U17s.’
Mohan has had a chance to fine tune his squad this week prior to flying out to Belgium, and despite injury ruling key players out of contention, the Under 19 Head Coach is pleased with how preparations have gone.
‘The training camp has gone well. The majority of players have come in injury free which is a bonus though some players have been unable to train through injury and our medical team is working on having them available for the Italy game.
‘Connor Ronan who had been excelling with the Wolves first team recently has been ruled out of the three games, he picked up an injury a couple of weeks ago. Another player absent is Steven Kinsella who was injured last weekend while Jake Doyle Hayes is also unavailable for the first two games through suspension.’
‘However, we’ve still got a lot of quality players and the strength of the 18 we have selected shows the depth we have available to us at both under 18 and under 19 level. A number of Jim Crawford’s under 18 squad have forced their way into the squad following some very good performances at under 18 international level and club level. The players are in good form, they’re focused and ready to face the task ahead,’ Mohan added.
Mohan, along with his fellow coaching staff, Dermot O’ Neill and Mick Neville, all former Derry City players, also expressed their sympathies to the family of Ryan McBride after the Derry City defender passed away suddenly on Sunday.
‘A number of our players would have played against Ryan this season. His untimely passing was a big shock to the group and it is a sad time for Irish football. From the whole group, the staff and the players, we’d like to pass our condolences onto the McBride family and friends, as well as Derry City Football Club.’
Republic of Ireland Under 19 Squad
Goalkeepers: Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (Bournemouth)
Defenders: Corey O'Keefe (Birmingham City), Canice Carroll (Oxford United), Darragh Leahy (Coventry City), Conor Masterson (Liverpool), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Conor Kane (Drogheda United), Tyreke Wilson (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Zack Elbouzedi (West Bromwich Albion), Jayson Molumby, Daniel Mandroiu (Brighton & Hove Albion), Conor Levingston (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Stephen Mallon (Sheffield United), Daniel McKenna (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Trevor Clarke (Shamrock Rovers)
Forwards: Michael O'Connor (Shamrock Rovers), Ronan Hale (Birmingham City)
Fixtures
Thursday, 23 March: Republic of Ireland v Italy, FC VW Hamme, Belgium, KO 18:00
Saturday, 25 March: Republic of Ireland v Sweden, Freethiel, Beveren, Belgium, KO 13:00
Tuesday, 28 March: Republic of Ireland v Belgium, Freethiel, Beveren, Belgium, KO 18:00