Republic of Ireland U17 head coach Colin O'Brien feels his side have got any sense of trepidation out of their system after opening their FIFA World Cup group campaign with a 4-1 victory over Panama in Qatar.
The current crop of under-17s are the first Irish side to ever play at the World Cup at that age grade and were placed into a group with Panama, Uzbekistan and Paraguay in the 48-team tournament.
With 32 teams advancing to the knockout stages, victory in the opening game could go a very long way towards potential progression and Ireland delivered with two goals in each half against Panama, courtesy of Jaden Umeh, Kian McMahon-Brown, Michael Noonan and Max Kovalevskis.
FT: Panama 1-4 Ireland
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 5, 2025
Comfortable start for the Irish as they get their #U17WWC off to a winning start #rtesport
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Speaking after the game, O'Brien was happy with the way his side approached the occasion.
"Obviously, it's the opening game, we feel delighted with the result," he said.
"To score four goals, four different scorers, it's a great start and three points."
The head coach added that he was particularly pleased with how they handled the pre-match nerves and the heat in Qatar.
"A lot of relief now probably (for the players) and the fact they've won the game, that's a lot of nerves gone now. They know what to expect, we got five players onto the pitch as well so we got 16 players to experience tonight, so really pleased with that also," he said.
"All the supports are around them but it is a different heat, it is a different condition to what we'd be used to in Europe but they coped with it well.
"They've got a good sense now of what it's like and they've gotten to understand now the tactical sides of it when you're playing in these conditions.
"So lots there that we're happy with but there's plenty of things of course that we have to tidy up and improve on for game two."
It's 2-0 to the Republic of Ireland as Kian McMahon-Brown finishes well after some great play.
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 5, 2025
Excellent display so far by the Boys in Green
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Ireland's second group game will be on Saturday (live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player) against Uzbekistan, who also got off to a winning start on Wednesday by beating Paraguay 2-1 thanks to a brace from Azizbek Abdumuminov.
With the short turnaround between games, O'Brien said his side would try to train "smart" with an emphasis on video analysis and the message to his players was to take satisfication from the win over Panama but to quickly switch focus to recovery and preparation.
"For months and months and especially since we met up, there's been a huge build up for them and you have to factor that in for young players," he said.
"I thought it was a little bit tense at times, a little bit nervy. That's expected in the opening game.
"But we came up with big goals, big players and big moments and that's what you need in a tournament, so I was delighted with that.
"The message will be now, 'enjoy the victory' but they've got a really good mindset, they know they have to go into preparation mode, recovery mode.
"We have two days to recover and then on Saturday evening we play Uzbekistan who I just found out beat Paraguay, so that will be another step up in levels."
The win over Panama also saw Ireland exprience the Video Support Referee mechanism which has been introduced by FIFA for the tournament.
Late on in the game, Panama were awarded a penalty with the ball having been adjudged to have hit defender Ryan Butler on the arm.
However, Ireland challenged the decision and it was ultimately overturned by the match referee.
"It's something that has come into the competition. It's not exactly VAR but it's a video support referee," O'Brien said.
"Basically you can challenge certain decisions, especially big calls that might go against you and the players can challenge from the pitch as well but they have to make the challenge to me as the head coach, then I take it from the sideline.
"Then you've got to report it to the fourth official, you have to have a challenge card which you have to hand them.
"There are all these protocols but the players were 100%. It was something we spoke about last night, without going too deep into it, but they had to be aware of it for them to experience that as well and be successful for it.
"Now they understand the process of it but it was a correct challenge. Ryan Butler's hand was in a natural position, so it was very successful overall from a process point of view."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Uzbekistan in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup on Saturday from 3.35pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport
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Watch the Sports Direct FAI Cup final, Shamrock Rovers v Cork City, on Sunday from 2pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
