Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager Don Givens has included teenagers Mark Yeates and Willo Flood in his squad for this month's Madeira International Tournament as preparations for the European Championship qualifiers get underway in earnest.
Tottenham's Yeates and Manchester City's Flood are both still eligible for Under-19 level. Yeates turned 18 last November, while Flood will be 19 in April. However, Givens was keen to get them involved believing that they will benefit enormously.
"They have both played in the first team and are excellent prospects. We've always worked on the basis that if you're good enough, you're old enough – I capped John O'Shea when he was Under-18 – and I think that these games will help their development," Givens said.
Unavailable for selection, due to their involvement in first-team football at their respective clubs, were Sean Thornton, David Bell, Jonathan Walters, Graham Ward, Kevin Foley and Eamon Zayed.
Apart from Bray Wanderers' Zayed, who is on loan at Crewe Alexandra, the eircom League is represented by Cork City pair Liam Kearney and Kevin Doyle along with Stephen Paisley of Longford Town.
The majority of the squad is made of players who were involved in last December's World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates.
Ireland will open the tournament against Portugal on Tuesday February 24, clash with Italy the following day before finishing the tournament with a game against Madeira on Friday February 27.
Squad: Murphy (Swansea City), Henderson (Aston Villa), Capper (Scarborough), McCarthy (Manchester City), Fitzgerald (Blackburn Rovers), Kelly (Tottenham Hotspur), Paisley (Longford Town), Kohlmann (Borussia Dortmund), Flood (Manchester City), Keegan (Leeds United), Potter (Liverpool), Foley (Liverpool), Whelan (Manchester City), Bradley (Arsenal), Kearney (Cork City), Doyle (Cork City), Deane (Charlton Athletic), Elliott (Manchester City), Mehmet (Dunfermline Athletic), Yeates (Tottenham Hotspur).
Filed by James Boylan
