We may be facing into another Riceesque saga surrounding Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Johansson. The underage star, who played for Bayern's senior team against Juventus and Man United during pre-season, qualifies for Ireland through his Mullingar-born mother but is also eligible to play for Sweden and Luxembourg.
It had appeared he would declare for Ireland in August, when Johansson was included in the Irish under-19 squad, but it now appears that he is going to choose Luxembourg instead. The Irish Independent reported last week that Johansson's family have notified the FAI that he intends to play for Luxembourg instead, and thus Johansson is absent from the Irish under-19 squad named today.
The under-19s have three UEFA Under-19 Championship qualifiers against Bosnia & Herzegovina, Faroe Islands and the Netherlands in the space of six days this month, with all games taking place at the City Calling Stadium in Longford.
The squad in full is below.
Goalkeepers: Kian Clarke (Shamrock Rovers), Brian Maher (St. Patrick's Athletic)
Defenders: James Clarke (Burnley), Nathan Collins (Stoke City), Tom Gaston (Girondins de Bordeaux), Jack James (Luton Town), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Lee O'Connor (Manchester United)
Midfielders: Aaron Bolger (Shamrock Rovers), Barry Coffey (Celtic), Conor Coventry (West Ham United), Jordan Doherty (Sheffield United), Jason Knight (Derby County)
Forwards: Jonathan Afolabi (Southampton), Will Ferry (Southampton), Adam Idah (Norwich City), Glen McAuley (Liverpool), Richard O'Farrell (St. Patrick's Athletic), Troy Parrott (Tottenham Hotspur), Ali Reghba (Bohemians)
The fixtures are as follows:
10/10: Bosnia and Herzegovina v Republic of Ireland, City Calling Stadium, KO 15:00
13/10: Republic of Ireland v Faroe Islands, City Calling Stadium, KO 15:00
16/10: Republic of Ireland v Netherlands, City Calling Stadium, KO 13:00
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