Republic of Ireland 1
New Zealand 1
Netherlands 1
Nigeria 0
Canada 2
Norway 2 - 1 Republic of Ireland
Ireland U21: Late Fossum strike ends unbeaten campaign
Ireland went behind thanks to Martin Odegaard's opener but a brilliant Jake Mulraney effort levelled the tie before the break. Ireland held out until the final minute of the game but Iver Fossen's strike won the game for the home side.
With temperatures as low as minus three on the 3G surface at the Marienlyst Stadion in Dremmen, Norway dominated the early stages of the game and went ahead just before the 20th minute. A neat interchange saw Henrik Bjordal break down the left side and cut back to find Odegaard, who evaded the on-rushing Kieran O'Hara to tuck home.
Ireland responded well to going behind and just before the half-hour, Ireland saw a penalty claim turned down. Neat passing play found QPR forward Ryan Manning on the edge of the area and his through-ball found Harry Charsley who went down under the challenge of Kristoffer Ajer, but the referee waved the claims away.
Soon after, Ireland were level. Declan Rice found the run of Jake Mulraney just over the half-way line and his pace saw him fly past Julian Ryerson, and into the area to finish under the keeper in the 32nd minute.
Ireland continued to create problems for Norway during the second-half as Manning and Ronan Curtis saw long-range efforts go wide from distance. Keeper O'Hara denied Odegaard with a brilliant save from a 20-yard free-kick as the game headed towards a draw.
However, Ireland were denied a deserved point in the final minute of the match as Curtis' header only half-cleared a right-sided corner and captain Fossem fired home to give the home side all three points.
Republic of Ireland U21 Head Coach Noel King said: "It's a tough one to take. We've worked so hard throughout the entire match and we definitely deserved a point.
"To lose it in the final minute of the game, it's always going to hurt but I'm incredibly proud of this great group of players. They've shown a lot of hunger, desire and passion for the cause tonight in difficult conditions and they should be proud of their efforts.
"That is a good Norway team, full of talent, and over two games, only the final minute of the game separates us. The players are in the dressing room but they want to get into the next game against Azerbaijan next year and get another positive result on the board.
"We've had a great start to the campaign so I'm sure we'll bounce back from this defeat. It's a long campaign and I believe in this group of players."
Republic of Ireland: O'Hara (GK), Kane, Donnellan, Sweeney, Whelan, Rice, Cullen (C), Charsley, Curtis, Manning (Ronan 85), Mulraney.
Norway: Bratveit (GK), Ryerson, Hanche-Olsen, Ajer, Jenssen, Fossum (C), Thorsby, Risa (Ingebrigtsen 85), Odegaard, Reitan (Johnsen 70), Bjordal (Espejord 73)
Referee: Ville Nevalainen (FIN)
Ireland U21: Charsley looks to continue unbeaten run
Noel King’s side currently lead Group Five in their qualifying campaign after the first four games which have seen Ireland pick up victories against Kosovo, Azerbaijan and Israel.
Ireland face a difficult Norway test in Dremmen tomorrow, with kick-off at 6pm (7pm local time). Norway held Ireland to a 0-0 draw in Tallaght Stadium last month and claimed an impressive 3-1 win over Germany last time out.
Everton midfielder Harry Charsley believes Ireland can continue their top-of-the-table form and get a crucial three points in Norway tomorrow evening.
Charsley said: “It’s the aim, that’s for sure. We’ve had some fantastic results so far this campaign and we’ll be looking to bring that into tomorrow night.
“Norway are a good, technical team, like they showed in Tallaght last month so we know we need to be at our very best to get the result we need.
“The conditions will be different from what we’re used to but the training has been good since we landed yesterday and we’re all really looking forward to it.”
Temperatures are set to drop to minus three in the Marienlyst Stadion during the game which will be played on a 3G pitch.
Ireland will be without Reece Grego-Cox and Ryan Delaney, who didn’t travel due to injury with Connor Dimaio and recent Derry City signing Rory Hale called up to replace them.
With Ireland one point ahead of Germany going into the game, Charsley believes the squad should have plenty of confidence ahead of the Norway test.
He added: “We’ve shown how good we can be during the campaign so far and it’s a great group of lads to be around.
“We can be confident. The 4-0 win over Israel showed how good we can be and for me to score, it was a great moment. I’m always looking to add more goals to my game so hopefully I can do that tomorrow night.
“It’d be a huge three points if we can get them and give us a great lift going into next year’s fixtures. We’ve got plenty of quality throughout the squad so hopefully we can show that tomorrow night.”
Republic of Ireland U21 squad to face Norway
Goalkeepers: Kieran O'Hara (Manchester United), Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool)
Defenders: Danny Kane (Huddersfield Town), Ryan Sweeney (Stoke City, on loan at Bristol Rovers), Shaun Donnellan (West Bromwich Albion, on loan at Walsall), Corey Whelan (Liverpool).
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (West Ham, on loan at Bolton Wanderers), Harry Charsley (Everton), Conor Shaugnessey (Leeds United), Liam Kinsella (Walsall), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Jake Mulraney (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Connor Ronan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Rory Hale (Derry City), Connor Dimaio (Chesterfield).
Attackers: Ryan Manning (QPR), Ronan Curtis (Derry City), Joe Quigley (Bournemouth, on loan at Newport County).
Ireland U21: King selects 18-man squad for Norway
The squad will meet up on Saturday ahead of the UEFA 2019 Under-21 European Championships qualifying match against the Norwegians in Marienlyst Stadion, Drammen, with kick-off at 7pm (6pm local time).
King has gone for a largely-unchanged squad with his side currently top of qualifying group five on 10 points having claimed three wins out of their opening four matches. Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher comes in for Nottingham Forest's Liam Bossin in the only change with Bossin sidelined through injury.
Fourth-placed Norway held Ireland to a 0-0 draw at Tallaght Stadium in October and will need to win on Tuesday to keep any qualification hopes alive whilst Ireland will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Republic of Ireland Under-21 Head Coach Noel King said: "The squad is really looking forward to meeting up later in the week and starting our preparations for the trip to Norway.
"As the Norwegians proved in the game in October, they are a very good team who will provide us with a difficult test. The players have started the campaign brilliantly and to be in the position at the top of the table after four games is fantastic and a credit to them.
"Norway will be boosted by their 3-1 victory against Germany and nobody is in doubt about the enormity of the challenge we face but given the levels these lads have reached, nothing would surprise me from them."
Republic of Ireland Under-21 Squad
Goalkeepers: Kieran O'Hara (Manchester United), Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool)
Defenders: Danny Kane (Huddersfield Town), Ryan Sweeney (Stoke City, on loan at Bristol Rovers), Shaun Donnellan (West Bromwich Albion, on loan at Walsall), Corey Whelan (Liverpool), Ryan Delaney (Burton Albion)
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (West Ham, on loan at Bolton Wanderers), Harry Charsley (Everton), Connor Shaugnessey (Leeds United), Liam Kinsella (Walsall), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Jake Mulraney (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Connor Ronan (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Attackers: Reece Grego-Cox (QPR), Ryan Manning (QPR), Ronan Curtis (Derry City), Joe Quigley (Bournemouth, on loan at Newport County).
Tactical Lineups
Norway
Substitutes
- 12 Amund Wichne (G)
- 6 Vebjørn Alvestad Hoff
- 14 Fredrik Knudsen
- 16 Dennis Johnsen
- 20 Runar Espejord
- 21 Mikael Ingebrigtsen
- 22 Tobias Heintz
Coach
Leif Gunnar Smerud
Republic of Ireland
Substitutes
- 16 Caoimhin Kelleher (G)
- 9 Connor Dimaio
- 12 Joseph Quigley
- 13 Liam Kinsella
- 14 Connor Ronan
- 15 Rory Hale
- 18 Conor Shaughnessy
Coach
Noel King
Officials
- Referee Ville Nevalainen
- Assistant Referees Jan-Peter Aravirta
- UEFA Delegate Vakhtang Bzikadze
- Assistant Referee Two Mika Lamppu
- Fourth Official Dennis Antamo
- Referee Observer Konrad Plautz
Match Statistics
- Norway
- Republic of Ireland
Minute by Minute Commentary