Ireland U17s: 'All of them have had different journeys'

The equation is simple for the Republic of Ireland Under-17s on Tuesday: beat hosts Hungary and Colin O'Brien's side will advance to the European Championship quarter-finals.

After a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of an impressive Poland outfit in their opener last Wednesday, the Boys in Green responded brilliantly on Saturday by sweeping Wales aside by a 3-0 scoreline including two wonderfully taken goals.

The squad - the vast majority of whom are League of Ireland academy-based - are making a name for themselves at the tournament and that final group game against Hungary will be live on the RTÉ News channel and the RTÉ Player (kick-off 7pm).

Former League of Ireland-winning defender Graham Gartland has coached the five-strong Shamrock Rovers contingent and he joined us on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast this week to share an insight into that quintet as well as the challenges that exist on the Irish player development pathway.

The five Hoops in the 20-player squad are Ireland U17s captain Freddie Turley, Ike Orazi who has two goals at the tournament, number 10 Naj Razi as well as defenders Cory O'Sullivan and Ade Solanke.

"I hope young players are listening to this because each one of them have had different journeys," said Gartland, who won Ireland Under-17s caps himself in 1999 and 2000 and went into detail on each player during the podcast discussion.

Watch the full podcast below:

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"All of them have had different journeys. Some of them have been at the club since the age of seven. Some of