Latest news with #Under-21s
The Irish Sun
28-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Jim Crawford full of praise for Irish record-breaking youngster, who ‘has an eye on the Under-21 top scorer'
JIM Crawford has played a part in developing some of Ireland's brightest stars, from Dara O'Shea to Evan Ferguson and now Mason Melia. And the Ireland Under-21 boss insists the most important thing is players get the right advice and support — in good times and bad. Advertisement 2 Mason Melia lining out for Ireland U21s 2 Crawford is a big admirer of Melia St Pat's star Melia, 17, The striker has been a sensation at Richmond Park and Crawford acknowledged the sky is the limit for the Wicklow man, who has already Crawford told SunSport: 'If Brexit wasn't around, there is an extremely high possibility that he'd have an English team — Spurs — in brackets after his name. 'He's got so much going for him. Probably the most important thing is he's a grounded boy, he's level-headed and humble. Advertisement Read more in Irish football 'Sometimes the really talented player — whether Under-12 or senior — is the most challenging to deal with. Are those players the ones that go and reach their ceiling? There are a hell of a lot of cases where they don't because their ability got them through younger age groups. 'Mason is 180 degrees the other side of that. He's constantly working on his game. 'He's been great since he's come into camp with us. We brought him in with a view to giving him minutes last October but he had a slight injury. Advertisement Most read in Football "Then we had him in the last camp in March when he became the youngest scorer in Under-21s history. 'Knowing him, he's probably got an eye on the top Under-21 scorer, which is jointly held by Kevin Doyle and Robbie Brady with seven goals. Shamrock Rovers snap up Northern Ireland Under-21s goal-getter as Stephen Bradley gives exciting verdict 'He's probably thinking, 'I'm six away from that now'. But of course the senior manager likes him so who knows how long he'll be with the Under-21s?' Melia's career has had few setbacks since he scored on his debut against Wexford in the Leinster Senior Cup as a 15-year-old. Advertisement But Crawford understands that few careers always go in an upward trajectory. And speaking generally, he said all players need the right support. He explained: 'There are young players who at 14s, 15s, 16s, 17s, all the way up, they are the best in their age group. 'But when you get to a certain age . . . there are 101 stories — I'm sure every coach has a few — of players who then just become a number. 'Some players can't handle that. It's then you need to dig in, work a bit harder and get the support from your coach and people around you. Advertisement "There is learning through adversity. It is what you see in Ireland players who are 25 or 26, when they have a bad ten minutes in a game, they know how to respond. 'It is why this time is so important for young boys. 'Even if you're in the first team and in a performance phase, you also need development. When things are not going well, you need people at the club to sit down and work things out with players. 'I'm a firm believer that players are always learning, even if they are getting up to their 30s. But especially with young players, you need to develop them even if they're in the first team. Advertisement 'They may lose confidence if they're not playing well, or even just develop bad habits, and you have to keep working with them. 'You need a support network for that, whether coaches at the club, parents, mentors, agents . . . I think the boys in our squad have that.' CRAWFORD KNOWS FIRST-HAND And Crawford, 52, points to his own career as a reference point. The Dubliner was a star for Bohemians when snapped up by Newcastle United in 1995 as he went straight in to join the first team. That was the season that the Magpies were the great entertainers as they led the Premier League only to be pegged back during the run-in by mighty Advertisement Crawford was on the fringes as his two appearances came at the end of the following season. He recalled: 'I was 21. You go to a club where you are competing with Dave Batty, Rob Lee, Lee Clarke, Steve Watson. 'I just went in and said, 'OK, I'll go here and break into this team'. Then you're playing your reserve games and going through your low period, it's a challenge. 'Back then you didn't have that support system around you to help you through it. Advertisement 'If I had that mentor, somebody who had been through it themselves that can say, 'You need to get out on loan here and do what I did . . .' 'I probably stayed too long at Newcastle. I should've realised, 'Am I going to get into that first team? No'. "I was on the bench and you get caught up in that and you're thinking, 'Maybe this game, I'll get my couple of minutes'. 'You take a step back . . . you probably weren't. You were on the bench because of an injury crisis. Advertisement 'But had someone said to me to go on loan, I'd have been, 'I'm on the bench, I'm this close!'' JIM'S JOURNEY He did have a two-month spell at Rotherham and a month at Dundee United but left St James' Park after three years for a move to Reading, before joining Shelbourne. With the Reds, he won four league titles and was 45 minutes away from the Champions League group stages, before going into coaching. Having taken interim charge of Shamrock Rovers in 2008, he has been with the FAI ever since — first as Under-19 assistant, then Under-18 boss, Under-21 assistant, and since 2020, Under-21 gaffer. Advertisement His time in charge has seen the Under-21s go from also-rans to qualifying contenders, though there have been near-misses in each of the campaigns. But he hopes the new crop of players for Euro 2027 can see Ireland make the jump and reach a first-ever finals, and even the 2028 LA Olympics. Crawford said: 'There are a couple that have tasted the disappointment but it's a new group. It's all building towards September now.'
Belfast Telegraph
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Stuart Dallas: I knew young Northern Ireland ace was destined for top the first time I saw him
Stuart Dallas says Justin Devenny was the standout player for Northern Ireland's Under-21s when he shadowed Tommy Wright in 2024. The 21-year-old midfielder has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the game since leaving Airdrie in 2023, culminating in 2025 in a place on the bench in the victorious FA Cup Final for Crystal Palace.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
England: Thomas Tuchel explains Dominic Solanke and Adam Wharton snubs for latest squad
Thomas Tuchel has explained why he left Dominic Solanke and Adam Wharton out of the England squad. Solanke and Wharton were omitted from Tuchel's 26-man squad when the England manager named it on Friday morning. England face Andorra in Barcelona in a World Cup qualifier on June 7, before hosting Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest's City Ground on June 10. Solanke was on the bench for Tuchel's first two matches in charge against Albania and Latvia in March but was left out of the squad this time as Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins and the returning Ivan Toney were selected instead as the three strikers. In midfield, Crystal Palace's FA Cup winner Wharton was left out and instead named in the England Under-21 squad, with Tuchel intending for him to join Lee Carsley's squad for this summer's U21 Euros in Slovakia. I had a call with Solanke, who deserved to be with us, has won a major title with Tottenham and was a major player for them Thomas Tuchel 'We decided to nominate three No9s, three strikers, with Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins [and Ivan Toney],' Tuchel said of the striker situation. 'I had a call with Dom Solanke, of course, who deserved to be with us, has won a major title with Tottenham and was a major player for them. But he was in camp already. I have a clear picture of what Dom can bring to this group and what he did. 'Now is still the moment to see new players, get a feeling for them and see them within the group. And because Ollie and Ivan were both not with us [in March], that is basically the decision.' Wharton, whose only senior cap came in a pre-Euro 2024 friendly win over Bosnia and Herzegovina last June, also had his absence from the senior squad explained by the England head coach. 'We made Adam train with us in the last camp, when he was with the Under-21s,' Tuchel said. 'He trained with us and was very, very good. At the moment, he has a little injury problem: a concussion protocol still from the [FA Cup] final. 'Together with Tino Livramento, Jarell Quansah, Elliott Anderson and Liam Delap — all names that could play a role for us — a major tournament is coming up with the Under-21s, and the intention is that they play a major role in this tournament. 'It is important. I like it a lot that they have the chance to be leaders in this group, to be players Lee [Carsley] hopefully relies on and will rely on, and we will monitor this very, very closely. For these players, the intention is that they take the responsibility for the Under-21s. 'It is the last chance for most of them to be picked in the U21s. From September, they fight for a place in the national team and they fight against big, big players. I think they will embrace it, to now play a Euros with the U21s, and that's what we want for them: to take responsibility. This will play a big part in their development; I am absolutely convinced.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Who is the only Latvian-born player to have appeared for Watford?!
With the arrival at Vicarage Road of Hector Kyprianou, Watford will soon have their first full Cyprus international – and with overseas players now so commonplace in England, it means the club's yellow shirt has been worn by representatives from every corner of the globe. For instance, could you name the only Latvian-born player to play for Watford? He made five appearances and scored on his full debut – and it occurred in this century. Answer at the end of the article . . . The eagle-eyed Hornets fans may have looked at websites containing lists of international players meticulously compiled by the late and esteemed Trefor Williams, and seen that Tom Williams is listed as having had one Cyprus cap while at Watford. However, Williams was never actually on the books at Vicarage Road. He played one half of a pre-season friendly against Wealdstone at Harefield United in 2007 – a game Watford won 4-0 with Williams playing alongside such luminaries as Cedric Avinel, Johan Cavalli and Steve Kabba. So, as soon as Kyprianou earns his next cap he will become the first to play for Cyprus while at Watford – and with games against Bulgaria and Romania next month, that could happen quickly. The new midfielder was born in London, though, and joins a surprisingly lengthy list of current Watford players who have earned international honours for a country other than the one where they were born. Imran Louza was born in France and was capped by their Under-21s for instance, but now plays full international football for Morocco. Rocco Vata was born in Scotland but earned his first full cap for the Republic of Ireland last season, while Tom Dele-Bashiru was born in Manchester and played for England Under-16s but has since been capped by Nigeria at Under-20 and Under-23 level. And there is another Cyprus international at the club: London-born goalkeeper Gabriel Ortelli recently earned his first Under-21s cap. When it comes to country of birth, then the list of nations from which players have come to represent Watford is a long one. Players born in more than 70 different countries have featured for the Hornets in a competitive first-team game. As you might expect, players born in England lead the way, with more than 800 in total, followed by Scotland and Wales. Defender Francisco Sierralta has the honour of being Watford's only first-team player to have been born in Chile, and the same badge can be worn by Giorgi Chakvetadze for Georgia, and Mamadou Doumbia for Mali. Digging through the place of birth of Watford players throws up a few oddities – who knew Jose Holebas was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany?! Peterborough journalist's lowdown on new man Nabizada called up again by England Many countries have only produced one Hornet: Albania (Rey Manaj), Ghana (Prince Buaben), Peru (Andre Carillo) and Slovakia (Juraj Kucka) among them. But, going back to the question at the start of the answer – did you know the only Latvian-born Watford player? Well done (especially if you didn't have to resort to the internet etc) if you came up with Aleksandrs Cauna. A former Chelsea trialist, he worked with Brendan Rodgers at Stamford Bridge who then brought him to Vicarage Road on loan during the 2008/09 season. Cauna made his debut as a substitute away at Plymouth, and then scored a volley on his full debut in a 2-2 draw with Southampton at Vicarage Road on April 7, 2009. He returned to his parent club, Skonto Riga, after five appearances for Watford, and went on to earn 45 caps for Latvia before retiring from the game in 2020. Additional stats from Jon Sinclair's WFC database at
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Clarke 'always had eye on' Hibs striker Bowie
Head coach Steve Clarke says he has "always had an eye on" Kieron Bowie after handing the Hibernian striker his first Scotland call-up. The 22-year-old forward has six goals in 22 appearances in all competitions for the Easter Road club this season after battling back from a hamstring injury he picked up on Under-21 duty. "He's had a good season, Kieron is one I've always had my eye on from the Under-21s," Clarke said after naming his squad for the upcoming friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein. "Any time I watched the Under-21s he always stood out. He's big, physical and strong with good attributes to his game. "Going into the summer, you've got Lawrence Shankland and Kevin Nisbet, I know what they can bring, so it was just to have a look at something a little bit different and see if we can expand the pool of players. "I keep talking about trying to get an overall bigger pool of players that we can select from and these games are a chance to look at one or two. "You're looking for somebody to catch your eye. You want competition between them. "That's why sometimes when you bring in some of the younger boys, the older boys are suddenly looking over their shoulder and thinking, 'aye, aye, he's thinking of something different'. It keeps them on their toes as well."
