Courtesy: FAI


Republic of Ireland Futsal team to take on England

Thursday, 18 December 2008

The Republic of Ireland Futsal squad arrived in Loughborough University, England on Thursday to continue their preparations for the UEFA Futsal Championship qualifiers in February.

Tomorrow, they take on an England side that has experienced over sixty senior international Futsal games with varying degrees of success. The Republic youngsters have evolved together from the U21 set up and have only recently played their first senior Futsal matches in Hungary where they performed well.

Following the England game, the team plays against a strong Libya outfit that acquitted itself very well in the recent FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil. This promises to be a stern test for the Irish youngsters. The Ireland team completes their programme on Sunday with the final game against Lithuania.

Team Manager Derek O’Neill said: “It promises to be an interesting few days for the young players we currently have in the squad. These matches are vital for the players to gain experience of Futsal at a high level and extremely important to the development of the domestic game in Ireland. The players here are playing for places in the February UEFA Championship qualifiers and need to perform very well if they are to be involved then.

Of course, with the Eircom Futsal League starting at the end of January, a number of other players will have the chance to impress and perhaps become part of the International set up. There will also be opportunities for Junior players who may have the potential to reach the required technical and mental capacities required to compete in the high intensity arena of International Futsal. Our eyes and minds are always open and we already have a number of new players to look at who have been recommended to us.”

The Republic of Ireland Futsal squad is as follows:

Mark Langtry (Shamrock Rovers)
Philip Mc Donagh (Bohemians)
Craig Duggan (Cork City)
Ian Byrne (Shelbourne)
John Perkins (FAI Development)
Alan Lynch (Longford Town)
Gary McCabe (Shelbourne)
Brendan Dawson (Shelbourne)
Shane O’Neill (Bray Wanderers)
Lloyd Massey (Shamrock Rovers)
Dane Massey (Bray Wanderers)
Keith Gallagher (Blubell United)
Chris Allen (Trinity College)
Thomas Morgan (Kildare County)










Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com