Seán O’Connor: History beckons for Ireland U-21s after impressing in Croatia camp

Having gone incredibly close to breaking that glass ceiling in the last campaign, falling to a penalty shoot-out defeat against Israel in September 2023, the young Boys in Green were drawn in, as boss Jim Crawford put it, an “exceptionally tough” group for 2025, against five-time Euros winners Italy, Turkey and Norway.

But sitting second in Group A ahead of their final four qualifiers later this year, Crawford’s young guns have more than put it up Europe’s best so far, with an opening win over Turkey before a concession at the death denied them a famous victory over the Azzurri in Cork.

This June double-header was the final chance for Crawford to run the rule over his side ahead of that qualifying run-in. After beating hosts Croatia, a team who are targeting a fourth successive Euros qualification, and coming from behind to impressively draw against England’s U-20s, the double-header proved the ideal preparation for the upcoming crunch games and the pressure that will fall on the shoulders of these players later this year.

“There’s players there who are disappointed to have drawn against England. I like that, because now we have that edge to us,” Crawford told the Irish Independent after yesterday’s 2-2 draw in Vrbovec, which former Ireland midfielder and current England U-21 boss Lee Carsley watched from the stands.

“The likes of Jobe Bellingham (brother of Jude) playing there, he’s played a huge number of Championship games. I’m sure if we had players who played as many games at that level, they would probably be in Portugal this week (with the senior squad).

“Nobody let their country down. Some didn’t play as much as they liked, but this is the U-21s. The next step is the senior team and players have to understand that too. Others were disappointed to be left out. I get it, but there’s a bigger picture to all of this.

“We need to understand how good our talent pool is. You look at England’s U-20 team, we did our analysis on them over their last few games, and there were only four players from that squad involved in this June window. They have a wealth of talent.

“I’m certainly pleased with what we have here. The group here have certainly posed a problem for myself and the staff [selecting the squad] going forward for the September window. The two games were huge tests, but to come here and go unbeaten shows the character this group has. They have unbelievable potential. That’s what it’s about at U-21 level – potential – and that needs to be harnessed. There’s certainly a bright future.”

As they departed Vrbovec’s town stadium, a 2,000 capacity third-tier ground just east of the Croatian capital, the U-21s made it back to their hotel just in time to watch the senior side take on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. Brighton midfielder Andrew Moran and QPR striker Sinclair Armstrong are the only two of the current U-21 squad to have been capped at senior level, with one each.

“We feed everything back to John O’Shea. He’s always on the phone, finding out who is playing well,” said Crawford, after Moran, Bosun Lawal and Josh Keeley were also called in to train with the seniors last week.

“I’ve no doubt over the coming days we’ll have a lengthy conversation about players who are here with us. The boys gave everything. You cannot fault their desire to put on the green jersey. There’s a togetherness here and each window it gets stronger and stronger.”

Sitting two points behind top seeds Italy with a game in hand, up next for Crawford’s men is an away date in Turkey, followed by back-to-back home games against Latvia and Norway before a giant trip to Italy concludes the campaign.

“It’s four massive games. After this window, the expectation levels are certainly getting higher and higher, which is great, and with that comes pressure.

“Do I believe we can do it? Yeah, I certainly do. We just need all of our arrows pointing in the right direction.”

In the Croatian heat, the young Ireland players have proven they are a match for Europe’s best. But crunch time is approaching, the temperature will rise and the stakes will be higher.

As they look to write their own chapter in the history books, this group must bring the same levels and more if the arrow is to hit that target.