Ireland Under-21s Head Coach Jim Crawford has named a 24-man squad for friendlies against Croatia and Qatar next month.

The young Boys in Green head to Zagreb for their final preparation before the start of the European Championship Qualifiers in September.

They face Croatia on Friday, June 6 before taking on Qatar Under-23s on Tuesday, June 10.

Crawford hands first Under-21s call-ups to League of Ireland trio, Cork City’s Cathal O’Sullivan, Shamrock Rovers’ Cory O’Sullivan and Drogheda United’s Warren Davis. 

There are also first Under-21 call-ups for Manchester United’s Jacob Devaney and a first international selection for Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Killian Barrett.

Sheffield United’s Sam Curtis, who has recently been on loan to St. Johnstone, returns to the squad as does former Drogheda United and current Stockport County goalkeeper Andrew Wogan.

There is significant League of Ireland interest in the group with 16 players currently playing or having come through the LOI or EA SPORTS LOI Academy. 

Looking ahead to the game, Head Coach Jim Crawford said: “These two games will be huge in terms of the preparation for the European Championships Qualifiers and we look forward to testing ourselves against quality opposition. Croatia have long had great pedigree in their youth teams and as for Qatar they are an emerging team in international football and will be a challenge.

“This is a young squad, we’ve nine players still in their teens but the majority of those nine are playing first-team football or around the first-team environment. It’s important we look at all options available to us, to put us in the best shape come September. We’ve had some solid performances already as a group and we saw that in particular in the last game against Hungary and we’ll be looking to build on that.”
 

Republic of Ireland Under-21s Squad

Goalkeepers: Killian Barrett (Sheffield Wednesday), Noah Jauny (Stade Brestois), Aaron Maguire (Tottenham Hotspur), Andrew Wogan (Stockport County)

Defenders: Sam Curtis (Sheffield United), Sean Grehan (Bohemians, on loan from Crystal Palace), Alex Murphy (Newcastle United), Cory O’Sullivan (Shamrock Rovers), David Okagbue (Walsall), Gabriel Otegbayo (Sheffield Wednesday), Jacob Slater (Brighton & Hove Albion),

Midfielders: Jacob Devaney (Manchester United), Darius Lipsiuc (Walsall, on loan from Stoke City), Jack Moorhouse (Manchester United), Jamie Mullins (Brighton & Hove Albion),  Adam Murphy (Bristol City), Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh (Southampton), Cathal O’Sullivan (Cork City), Harry Vaughan (Hull City)

Forwards: Warren Davis (Drogheda United), Joe Gardner (Nottingham Forest), Jad Hakiki (Sligo Rovers), Mason Melia (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Mark O’Mahony (Brighton & Hove Albion)
 

International Friendly Fixtures (Kick-Offs Irish time)

Friday, June 6 | Croatia U21 v Ireland U21, Gradski Stadion, Vrbovec, Zagreb, KO 16:00
Tuesday, June 10 | Ireland U21 v Qatar U23, Gradski Stadion, Vrbovec, Zagreb, KO 17:00
 

Ticket information
Entry is free into Gradski Stadion for both fixtures