Round 1 in October of last year saw the Girls in Green lose to both Switzerland (3-2) and England (1-0) before beating Northern Ireland (2-0). The team continued to prepare throughout the winter and met once again in February where they secured a double victory over Russia in a friendly set of matches based out of Antalya, Turkey.
Looking to the upcoming fixtures, the team look to secure their spot in the 2022 finals tournament. They will kick-off on Wednesday against the home side, Czech Republic. Saturday will see the girls' skills be put to the test as they face the 3rd ranked team in the world, France. Finally, they will face Greece in the last of three games on Tuesday.
With Czech Republic guaranteed a spot in the finals, Ireland must top the group to secure their own place.
Manager Dave Connell updates on how camp is going so far: “The girls are very sharp and that’s been the situation since they arrived in so it’s been very productive so far."
With a large task at hand, Connell is ensuring the team stay focused. “We’re taking each game as it comes. The biggest challenge is the Czech Republic and we’ll deal with the other games once that is finished. It’s trying to get a result whether that’s a draw or even better a win, that would be great. We know it’s difficult, they’re the second seeds, we’re the third seeds so it’s an uphill battle for the week but we’re taking each day as it comes.”
Captain and Wexford Youths star Della Doherty weighs in on the upcoming game: “We’re ready for the game now, I’m looking forward to it and I’m sure all the girls are the same.”
Doherty outlined the approach the team will take come kick-off time. “I suppose every team aims to go into the game to win but on the side of that, we want to get a good performance in and show who we are on the pitch. In the qualifiers we played England and Switzerland and we didn’t get the results but we gave the performances so I think now it’s getting that clean sheet and then I believe that we’re going to score up top so if we get that 1-0, it’s that game management. I think as a team we’ve built character and I think it’s time to show that in the game on Wednesday.”
The match will be available to watch via the Czech Republic FA’s YouTube Channel with a kick-off of 17:00 Irish time.
Republic of Ireland Women's Under-19 Squad
Goalkeepers:Rugile Auskalnyte (DLR Waves), Ciara Glackin (Athlone Town)
Defenders: Abbey Tuthill (Shamrock Rovers), Therese Kinnevey (Galway WFC), Jessie Stapleton (Shelbourne), Della Doherty (Wexford Youths), Emma Bucci (South Carolina State), Shauna Brennan (Galway WFC)
Midfielders: Aoibheann Clancy (Wexford Youths), Maria Reynolds (Shamrock Rovers), Kate Slevin (Galway WFC), Eva Mangan (Cork City), Muireann Devaney (Athlone Town), Jenna Slattery (Galway WFC), Emily Corbett (Athlone Town)
Forwards: Emma Doherty (Sligo Rovers), Erin McLaughlin (Peamount United), Kerryanne Brown (Derry City), Rebecca Watkins (Wexford Youths), Michelle Doonan (Peamount United)
UEFA WOMEN'S UNDER-19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
ROUND 2 - GROUP A7
Republic of Ireland v Czech Republic
Wednesday, April 6th
City Stadium, Opava
KO 17:00 (18:00 local time)
France v Republic of Ireland
Saturday, April 9th
Bazaly Stadium, Ostrava
KO 14:00 (15:00 local time)
Greece v Republic of Ireland
Tuesday, April 12th
Bazaly Stadium, Ostrava
KO 14:00 (15:00 local time)