Ireland Under-21s set for Kuwait game to finish camp

Republic of Ireland Under-21s will play their final game of their June international camp when they take on Kuwait Under-22s in Bad Radkersburg, Austria on Monday.

The young Irish side are buoyed by an impressive performance against Ukraine on Friday that saw them battle back twice to draw the game 2-2.

The performance was described as 'outstanding' by head coach Jim Crawford with Ukraine more than a year older than the Irish side and including senior international players.

Kuwait will offer a different challenge to the Boys in Green who will be looking to bounce back from their 2-0 loss against the Ukrainians last Tuesday.

This will be the first meeting between Ireland U21s and a side from the Middle East since a 1-0 win over Bahrain in the Toulon Tournament in 2019. Connor Ronan scored the winner that day.

Harry Vaughan (Hull City) and Tayo Adaramola (Crystal Palace) have both been ruled out of the game due to injury.

Captain Joe Hodge (Wolves) is also ruled out as a precaution after suffering a head injury in the draw with Ukraine. Sinclair Armstrong (QPR) is likely to feature in the game.

Ireland forward Andrew Moran said: "Kuwait will be a good side. They're an Under-22s side so they will be a bit physical and a bit older than us, but like we showed against Ukraine we can deal with the physical aspect.

"We’re looking at stamping our own game onto them. We’ve a lot of talent in this team and we want to go out and show that."

Ireland Under-21s squad

Goalkeepers: Tiernan Brooks (Notts County), Killian Cahill (Brighton & Hove Albion), Josh Keeley (Tottenham Hotspur)

Defenders: James Abankwah (Udinese), Tayo Adaramola (Crystal Palace), Sam Curtis (St. Patrick's Athletic) James Furlong (Brighton & Hove Albion), Anselmo Garcia