A 7-0 destruction of Slovakia has earned the Boys in Green back-to-back World Cup qualifications.
Shamrock Rovers’ Victor Ozhianvuna has just qualified for his second Under-17 World Cup(Image: Mohamed Farag – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Ireland are on their way to back-to-back World Cups.
The Under-17s produced a sensational display to put SEVEN goals past Slovakia in Brzeg, Poland, on Tuesday to seal a spot in the finals, with Qatar once again hosting the tournament.
Last year Ireland secured a first-ever spot at the Under-17 finals and made it to the last-16, where they were eliminated by Switzerland.
They eased through the group stages, sealing top spot with wins against Panama and Uzbekistan, and a draw against Paraguay with progress already guaranteed.
After beating Canada on penalties in the Round of 32, they were eliminated by a strong Swiss outfit, but not before Shamrock Rovers striker Michael Noonan made his mark on the tournament with three goals.
This time around, they have sealed their spot as one of the four best runners-up in the European Championship qualifiers, although they have narrowly missed out on a spot at the Euros.
Croatia were trailing group hosts Poland with just over a quarter-of-an-hour remaining in that game, but clinched an equaliser that saw them edge ahead of Ireland by a point.
However, 17 goals across six qualifiers – including Tuesday’s seven-goal display – should give the Boys in Green confidence as they prepare for November’s return to the world stage.
Cillian Murphy’s first-half hat-trick against Slovakia brought the Cork City attacking midfielder’s total across those six round one and round two games to five.
He netted in the eighth, 20th and 39th minutes.
St Patrick’s Athletic prospect Ryan Sheridan scored in the 29th minute as Ireland went in 4-0 ahead at half-time, to take his tally to three across the qualifiers.
Second-half goals came from Bohemians forward Josh Harpur, Shelbourne’s Joey Wuna and Shamrock Rovers’ Desmond Armstrong.
Ireland: Darragh Brunton (St Patrick’s Athletic), Danny Burke (Shamrock Rovers), Kian Quigley (St Patrick’s Athletic), Ryan Sheridan (St Patrick’s Athletic), Sean Spaight (Dundalk), Tom McGrath (Cork City), Josh O’Dwyer (Shamrock Rovers), Cillian Murphy (Cork City), Victor Ozhianvuna (Shamrock Rovers), Joey Wuna (Shelbourne), Josh Harpur (Bohemians).
Subs: Jason Spelman (St Patrick’s Athletic) for O’Dwyer 59, Desmond Armstrong (Lorient) for Harpur 59, David Dunne (Monaco) for Ozhianvuna 70, Maxim Afonin (Shamrock Rovers) for Murphy 70, Glen Ilunga (Burnley) for Quigley 77.