Michael Noonan, right, and Victor Ozhianvuna of Shamrock Rovers
It’s definitely a case of country before club for Republic of Ireland U-17s manager Colin O’Brien as he makes no apologies for his squad selection for the World Cup finals in Qatar next month which will see a batch of players miss out on a potential FAI Cup medal.
O’Brien, who has guided the U-17s to the European Championship finals on four occasions, gets his first taste of the world stage when Ireland take part in the finals in Qatar with qualification in itself already seen as an achievement given that European powers like Spain have missed out. Ireland play Panama, Uzbekistan and Paraguay in the group phase with a realistic chance of progress to the knockout stages.