While players switching international teams at underage level is a relatively common occurrence, there was a sense of surprise when Ireland U21 defender Connor O'Riordan was called up by Scotland earlier this week.
The Crewe Alexandra man has been part of the Irish setup since 2021, going on to make his U21 debut against Kuwait earlier this summer. However, having yet to play a competitive fixture for Ireland after missing out on the September Euro qualifiers, he would be called up by Scotland on Monday.
It may have seemed that the player had decided to throw his lot on with the Scots, but there was another twist in the tale yesterday. O'Riordan would pull out of the Scottish squad, before being included in the Ireland U21 player list for the game against Latvia this afternoon.
CONFIRMED | Jim Crawford names 22-man squad for U21 EURO Qualifier with Latvia
Joe Hodge, Armstrong Oko-Flex and Connor O’Riordan all return to the squad 👏☘️
Fri, Oct 13 | 🇱🇻 v 🇮🇪 (KO 1pm Irish time)
🗞️👉 More here https://t.co/8HMXvJdXs5#IRLU21 | #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/cEkKw7x8CW— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) October 5, 2023
Jim Crawford has now addressed the matter.
Jim Crawford addresses confusion around future of Ireland U21 defender
Players switching between national teams at underage level is not uncommon, although there was a sense of surprise with the news that Connor O'Riordan might do so. As it turns out, that shock even extended into the Irish setup.
Speaking at his squad announcement this afternoon, Ireland U21 boss admitted that he was surprised to see the defender called up by another nation. However, having spoke to the 19-year old soon after, he said he has absolutely no doubts about his commitment to Ireland.
I didn't have an inkling (he would be called up by Scotland), but these things happen at underage football more so. It's one of them, we had the conversation.
All I can say is that he is desperate to play for the Republic of Ireland, desperate to. That's the type of player you want here...
Yeah look, essentially he is our player, he always has been. We brought him in with the Ireland U20s team against the amateur team a couple of years and he has always been on our radar.
He is old enough for the U21s, he gets called up into our March camp against Iceland. Unfortunately he tweaked his hamstring in training in the buildup to the game...
In the buildup to September, Connor wasn't playing or didn't start the season with Crewe. He played a couple of games just before the window. Connor is somebody that is always there or there abouts in the squad, I just felt at that time he needed a few more games. Essentially, he was always going to be part of the U21s...
Somebody of Connor's ability, it doesn’t surprise me (he was called up by Scotland), because it does go on at international football where he hasn't played a competitive game so someone will come in say 'we will take you on'.
I had the phone call with him and he's certainly all about playing for the Republic of Ireland. I'm delighted to have him.
Connor O'Riordan has played games for Crewe in League Two this season, scoring in their victory over Gillingham in midweek.
Having displayed some good form in recent times, Crawford's comments would suggest that he could now be given the opportunity to impress for Ireland when they face Latvia on October 13th.
SEE ALSO: Stephen Kenny Explains What Young Irish Players Need To Learn From James McClean
