Republic of Ireland U18s head coach Jim Crawford will be looking for a positive start when his side plays the first of two friendly internationals in three days tomorrow when they meet the Netherlands in Salou, Spain (4.00pm Irish).
Sligo Rovers goalkeeper Edward McGinty is part of the Irish squad, and is one of only three players from League of Ireland clubs that has made the cut.
The Dutch and Germans were both semi-finalists in the UEFA U17 Championships Finals in May so will provide Crawford's squad with an excellent test.
This group of Ireland players were defeated at both U15 and U16 level by the Netherlands in recent years so there is no doubt about the challenge facing the Boys in Green.
But with Republic of Ireland U19 head coach Tom Mohan observing the two games, Crawford has highlighted the opportunity to his players to make their mark against high quality opposition.
"A lot of the players in the squad have some experience of being in international squads before and they know that this is going to be a big test for them and an indication of where they are at as players," said Crawford.
"The lads have trained well. We've prepared well as best we can in such a short space of time and the players have shown that they can handle the role and responsibilities that we've given them. They're all looking forward to the challenge, which is the most important thing.
"There are a few in the squad that haven't been around this level much before so that's a big challenge for them. At under-18 level it is an opportunity to push and perhaps stand out and impress Tom Mohan so that they can maybe come into consideration for the UEFA U19s Elite Phase in the new year.
"It's important that he's here to observe them and while he knows many of them from previous squads is a good opportunity to have a look at how they're developing.
"The whole agenda with the U18s is to maintain that pathway to the U19 level. All games are tough at this level but you want players to go out an express themselves against this quality of opponent. Maybe we're underdogs going into both these games but so were Dundalk going into their Europa League games and look how they've done.
"I feel that if we can get off to a good start that we'll be a big challenge for our opponents to deal with too."
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:
Edward McGinty (Sligo Rovers)
Mark Travers (Bournemouth)
Canice Carroll (Oxford United)
James Finnerty (Aston Villa)
Ryan Nolan (Inter Milan)
Aaron O’Driscoll (Southampton)
Dara O’Shea (West Bromwich Albion)
Rian O’Sullivan (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Thomas Byrne (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Jack Clarke (Aston Villa)
Daniel McKenna (Wolves)
Stephen Mallon (Sheffield United)
Thomas O’Connor (Southampton)
Kian Flanagan (Crystal Palace)
Corrie Ndaba (Ipswich Town)
Anthony Scully (West Ham United)
Aidan Keena (St Patrick’s Athletic)
Aaron Dobbs (Shamrock Rovers)
FIXTURES
U18 International Friendly
Friday, November 11
Netherlands v Republic of Ireland, Futbol Salou, Sapin (4.00pm Irish)
Sunday, November 13
Germany v Republic of Ireland, Futbol Salou, Sapin (12.00pm Irish)
