EC Elite Round
28.03.2016 at 15:00 - Stadion Znicza Pruszków, Pruszków
Tom Mohan's side qualified for the finals at this age group last year and would relish an opportunity to repeat that feat in this campaign.
Serbia have a great reputation in underage football but Mohan is more than confident that his Irish squad are up to the challenge to come this week.
“We’ve faced Serbia almost every year since I was involved with Ireland. They’ve always been hard battles and everyone knows that they produce good players but we’ve always been competitive against them," said Mohan.
“We have to approach it like we have with every game this season and try to win it but we have to be hard to play against without the ball. We’ve been good in attacking sense all season so I see no reason why we can't continue that.
“The boys are enthusiastic about the challenge ahead. These players are hungry to emulate what last year’s group did and have a real desire to reach the finals.
"We’ve good quality players in our squad and just as importantly they have a good spirit. It’s another level up from the qualifying phase and we know the level is higher but we can perform at this level."
The Irish trained today with West Ham's Declan Rice the only concern with a throat complaint but Mohan expects to be at full strength for the clash with the Serbs.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U17 SQUAD:
Mark Travers (Unattached)
Paul Martin (St Patrick's Athletic)
Anthony Scully (West Ham United)
Aaron O'Driscoll (Man City)
Jayson Molumby (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Thomas Byrne (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Thomas O'Connor (Southampton)
Rian O'Sullivan (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Dara O'Shea (West Bromwich Albion)
Daniel McKenna (Wolves)
Tyreke Wilson (Man City)
Canice Carroll (Oxford Utd)
Lukas Browning (IF Brommapojkarna )
Declan Rice (West Ham United)
Stephen Mallon (Sheffield Utd)
Lee O'Connor (Villa FC, Waterford)
Michael Murphy (Shelbourne)
Glen McAuley (Liverpool)
FIXTURES
Monday, March 28
UEFA U17 Championships Elite round Group 7
Republic of Ireland v Serbia, MZOS Znicz, Pruszkow (POL) (2.00pm)
Wednesday, March 30
UEFA U17 Championships Elite round Group 7
Republic of Ireland v Montenegro, Stadion ROSRRiT Siedlce, Siedlce (POL) (1.00pm)
Saturday, April 2
UEFA U17 Championships Elite round Group 7
Poland v Republic of Ireland, MZOS Znicz, Pruszkow (POL) (5.00pm)
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