The Ireland Men’s Under-21s will return to Croatia for the June international window as part of preparation for their UEFA Under-21 EURO Qualifiers later this year.

Jim Crawford’s side will take on Croatia (Saturday, June 6th) before coming up against Qatar Under-23s (Tuesday, June 9th) in a repeat of last year’s International Friendly series.

The games will take place in the Gradski Stadion, Vrbovec, Zagreb - marking the third successive summer the Under-21s to have used Croatia as a base.

Croatia will provide a stern test for Ireland as they currently sit top of Group H in Under-21s qualifying and remain unbeaten. More recently Qatar competed at the Under-23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia having qualified with an unbeaten record and last year secured a friendly win over Sweden.

The Ireland squad will be announced on Monday, June 1st with Crawford set to select several new players as part of the travelling group.

The quartet of James Abankwah, Mason Melia, Alex Murphy and Jaden Umeh - who have each been capped at Under-21s level this campaign - have all been included in Heimir Halgrimsson’s senior men’s team squad.

Head Coach Crawford said: “This June international window is important for us as it gives us an opportunity to assess our options and prepare for the final run-in of the campaign.

“We expect a couple of new additions to the squad but it’s also an opportunity for those players who have been with us throughout the campaign to nail down their squad place.

“Croatia are always a difficult opponent and they’ve had an impressive campaign and then you have Qatar who may have players involved who are five years more senior than some our players. We’ve had a young squad all campaign but both games will offer unique challenges and will be important for the players’ development.”
 

International Friendly Fixtures

Saturday, June 6th | Croatia MU21 v Ireland MU21, Gradski Stadion Vrbovec, Zagreb, KO 16:30 (Irish Time)

Tuesday, June 9th | Ireland MU21 v Qatar MU23, Gradski Stadion Vrbovec, Zagreb, KO 15:45 (Irish Time)