Two June friendlies in Zagreb for Ireland U21 team
THE IRELAND U21 team will take on Croatia U21 and Qatar U23 in friendlies in Zagreb next month.
Ireland will use the international window as final preparation before the start of the European Championship qualifiers in September.
Jim Crawford's side will be looking to build on the 3-1 friendly win over Hungary in March where Mason Melia became the U21s' youngest ever goalscorer and Brentford's Conor
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Crawford said: 'We look forward to taking on a very good team in Croatia. Like ourselves, they are second seeds for qualifying so we know it will be a very tough test especially in Croatia. Likewise, Qatar will be tough opponents, their style will reflect what we are likely to come up against in the qualifiers so it's an important challenge for the players to overcome.'
Ireland face Moldova away on Thursday, 4 September before returning for the home game with Andorra on Tuesday, 9 September.
Crawford says he will use the games as an opportunity to assess his options ahead of the campaign.
'It's important we take a look at the player pool that is available to us,' he said. 'There will be players coming into the squad who weren't available to us in November and March so we will be looking at bringing in players for their first U21s squad. Like with any international window, it's an opportunity to impress and an opportunity to stake a claim to be involved come September and beyond. These are two important games going into the campaign ahead.'
* Friday, 6 June: Croatia U21 v Ireland U21, Zagreb, KO 4pm Irish time
* Tuesday, 10 June: Ireland U21 v Qatar U23, Zagreb, KO 5pm Irish time
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