The scenario is simple. Win and Ireland Under 17s will be in the quarter final. Ireland can also qualify with a draw, and even a loss, but Colin O’Brien’s side will be going into the game aiming to control their own destiny.
An opening group game defeat to Serbia was followed up with a win over Bosnia & Herzegovina on Sunday which has now set up a grandstand finale to Group C.
O’Brien has been pleased with how the build up has gone so far since his side got back to winning ways. “Preparations are going as well as they can for us,” he said. “We had our final session on the pitch this morning. We’ve got a couple of players still carrying a few knocks so we’ll still have one or two decisions to make before kick off."
Ireland’s record in the campaign now stands at played eight, won seven, with just one defeat thus far. Sunday’s win was essential to Ireland’s chance of progression with O’Brien particularly pleased with the character displayed.
“It was very important because we knew we had to get something out of the game to be able to make sure we were going into our final game against Germany still alive in the group. We did that and it really is all to play for.“
The German’s sit top of Group C with a 100% record to date, with O’Brien knowing both the quality in their side the areas this Irish team can exploit.
“Germany’s game is very much about dominating the ball. They commit a lot of numbers to attack and have a lot of creative players in their team. They really go into the game attack oriented.
“We’ve looked at other aspects of their game and we see we’ll get opportunities against them. That’s what we’ve got to bear in mind tomorrow, that there is areas of weakness as well. we’ll get opportunities against them,” O’Brien added.
That confidence was echoed by striker Adam Idah. The Cork native scored Ireland’s winner against the Bosnians along with bagging the assist for Rowan Roache’s opener. “There is a really positive vibe around the group in training. It’ll be a tough game but if we all work hard and put in a good performance then there is no reason why we can’t get a result.”
Live minute-by-minute updates of Republic of Ireland v Germany will be available on FAI.ie with further updates on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram throughout the day. The game will be shown live on Eurosport.
Republic of Ireland Under 17 Squad - UEFA European Under 17 Championship
Goalkeepers: Brian Maher (St Patrick’s Athletic), Kian Clarke (Bohemians)
Defenders: Lee O’Connor (Manchester United), Kameron Ledwidge (St Kevin’s Boys), Nathan Collins (Cherry Orchard), Jordan Doherty (Sheffield United), Daryl Walsh (Waterford FC), Joe Redmond (Birmingham City)
Midfielders: Aaron Bolger (Shamrock Rovers), Luke Nolan (St Patrick’s Athletic), Brandon Kavanagh (Bohemians), Richard O’Farrell (St Patrick’s Athletic), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Callum Thompson (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Forwards: Rowan Roache (Blackpool), Adam Idah (College Corinthians), Aaron Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Tyreik Wright (Lakewood AFC)
Fixtures/Results
Thursday, 4 May: Republic of Ireland 0-1 Serbia, Stadium Kostrena
Sunday 7 May: Republic of Ireland 2-1 Bosnia & Herzegovina, Stadium Kostrena, Kostrena
Wednesday, 10 May: Republic of Ireland v Germany, Stadium Rujevica, Rijeka, KO 11:00 Irish Time, LIVE on Eurosport 1