Waterford FC youngsters named on Ireland U17 squad for European Championships

Waterford FC players Jason Healy and Romeo Akachukwu have been named on Colin O’Brien's Ireland under-17 squad for next week's UEFA European U17 Championships in Hungary.

Ireland have been drawn in Group A with Poland, Wales and hosts Hungary. Their opening game is on Wednesday against Poland before they face Wales on Saturday, May 20 and Hungary on Tuesday, May 23. All games will be live on RTÉ.

Ahead of the tournament, O'Brien said: "The staff and I are really satisfied with the squad and each player is here on merit. All the players have had some international involvement this season which was a key factor for us during the selection.
 
"It will be difficult for Trent (Kone-Doherty) and Niall (McAndrew) to miss out through injury but they’ve good people around them and I’ve no doubts they’ll overcome this.
 
"As for the tournament itself, there’s a natural feeling of excitement for it. Myself and a number of the staff have experienced the finals before so we have that experience, however this is a new group of players and it will be new for them and the tournament is all about the players.
 
"The European Championships is a great platform for player development and when you look at the senior team there are a number of players who have been involved at Under-17s finals. It stood them well and we hope this tournament does this same with this group."