{"id":128048,"date":"2025-11-08T04:00:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T04:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/128048\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T04:00:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T04:00:35","slug":"meet-the-ireland-under-17-squad-going-for-world-cup-glory-in-qatar-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/128048\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Ireland under-17 squad going for World Cup glory in Qatar \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Republic of Ireland Under-17 Fifa World Cup Squad<\/p>\n

Goalkeepers<\/p>\n

George Moloney<\/p>\n

Age: 15<\/p>\n

Club: Southampton<\/p>\n

\"GoalkeeperGoalkeeper George Moloney. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

The youngest member of Colin O\u2019Brien\u2019s squad (he will turn 16 during the tournament), Moloney impressed when Southampton beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Super Cup NI final in August. He is well regarded and was shortlisted for the Ireland under-15 Player of the Year in 2024.<\/p>\n

Alex Noonan<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Shamrock Rovers<\/p>\n

\"GoalkeeperGoalkeeper Alex Noonan. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

The Maynooth youngster and former Straffan player is Ireland\u2019s first-choice keeper for this World Cup, having got the nod against Panama on Wednesday. Part of Ireland\u2019s under-15 squad that won the Torneo delle Nazioni tournament in Italy two years ago.<\/p>\n

Corey Cummins-Sheridan<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Finn Harps<\/p>\n

\"CoreyCorey Cummins-Sheridan on the right at Dublin Airport ahead of the flight. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

Sheridan joined the Harps Academy from Erne Wanderers and has represented the Ballybofey-based club at every age group from under-14s to seniors, making seven appearances in the League of Ireland First Division this season.<\/p>\n

Defenders<\/p>\n

Ryan Butler<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Wexford FC<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Ryan Butler. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

A young man in a hurry after moving straight from Wexford\u2019s under-17s into their senior team this season, where he made 21 appearances in the First Division for manager Stephen Elliott, the former Ireland striker.<\/p>\n

Josh Cullen<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Finn Harps<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Cullen. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

Cullen is the grandson of former Donegal captain Pauric McShea and was a talented GAA player himself before siding with soccer. He has played through the ages at Finn Harps\u2019 academy and was rewarded with a senior breakthrough this season, making 27 appearances in league and cup.<\/p>\n

\"\"A big weekend for Ireland\u2019s emerging rugby talent<\/p>\n

Vinnie Leonard<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Dundalk<\/p>\n

\"VinnyVinny Leonard on the left at Dublin Airport ahead of the Republic of Ireland under-17s flight to Qatar. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

A product of Meath club Torro United, Leonard joined Dundalk\u2019s academy at U14s and signed his first professional deal last Christmas. He repaid that show of faith with 34 league appearances as Dundalk clinched the First Division title under Ciaran Kilduff.<\/p>\n

Ade Solanke<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: FC Lorient<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Ade Solanke in action. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

Once all the rage in Shamrock Rovers\u2019 academy, Solanke joined French side Lorient at the start of the year, playing in their reserves. But it will be a short stint as he is widely expected to join Bournemouth \u2013 an affiliate of Lorient \u2013 once he turns 18 in January.<\/p>\n

Oisin McDonagh<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Venezia<\/p>\n

\"OisinOisin McDonagh. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

After leaving the Shamrock Rovers academy, McDonagh returned home to Wexford FC where he made his first-team breakthrough before being snapped up by Italian outfit Venezia last year. He has made 18 appearances across the under-17s and Primavera 2 sides.<\/p>\n

Finn Sherlock<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Hoffenheim<\/p>\n

\"FinnFinn Sherlock. Photograph: Ramsey Cardy\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s reigning under-17 Player of the Year, having picked up the award in June. Sherlock plays his football in Germany having left Shelbourne last year, even though former Reds manager and Ireland legend Damien Duff wanted to keep the ex-Cootehill Celtic youngster.<\/p>\n

Sean Spaight<\/p>\n

Age: 16<\/p>\n

Club: Dundalk<\/p>\n

\"SeanSean Spaight. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

Spaight captained Ireland\u2019s under-16s to Victory Shield glory last year and was a regular in Dundalk\u2019s first-team squad this season as the Lilywhites clinched the First Division title, making five appearances. Shortlisted for Ireland\u2019s under-15 Player of the Year award in 2024.<\/p>\n

Midfielders<\/p>\n

Rory Finneran<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Newcastle United<\/p>\n

\"RoryRory Finneran. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

English-born but Ireland\u2019s captain for this World Cup, he joined Blackburn Rovers as an eight-year-old and became their youngest first-team debutant at 15, when he played in an FA Cup game in 2024. Finneran, who was Ireland under-15 Player of the Year in 2023, is now at Newcastle but Blackburn and Newcastle are in dispute over a fee.<\/p>\n

Ramon Martos<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: UD Almeria<\/p>\n

\"RamonRamon Martos. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

Martos holds dual citizenship, having been born in Dublin to an Irish mother and Spanish father, who was once part of Real Madrid and Real Betis\u2019 youth set-ups and is now a cardiologist. Martos\u2019 maternal grandfather, David Pugh, played for Sligo Rovers and Shamrock Rovers and also captained Ireland\u2019s under-23s.<\/p>\n

Grady McDonnell<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Club Brugge<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Grady McDonnell warms up. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

Born and raised in Canada, McDonnell became the youngest player to sign a pro deal in the Canadian Premier League, aged 15 years and 11 months. He qualifies for Ireland through his grandfather and has represented both Ireland and Canada at underage level. He joined Club NXT, the second team of Club Brugge, in January.<\/p>\n

Kian McMahon-Brown<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Burnley<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Kian McMahon-Brown. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

McMahon-Brown has a keen eye for goal and last season with Burnley, he scored 34 goals and provided 15 assists across games at under-17, under-18 and under-21 levels. He has already opened his World Cup account by scoring Ireland\u2019s second goal in Wednesday\u2019s win over Panama. Was at Liverpool and Blackburn before joining the Clarets.<\/p>\n

Goodness Ogbonna<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: UCD<\/p>\n

\"GoodnessGoodness Ogbonna. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

The Longford lad was a star for Melview FC and also played GAA for Longford Slashers. He joined Shamrock Rovers\u2019 academy and was on the Hoops bench when Stephen Bradley\u2019s first-team lost to Molde on penalties in a Conference League playoff back in February. Ogbonna is now with UCD.<\/p>\n

Victor Ozhianvuna<\/p>\n

Age: 16<\/p>\n

Club: Shamrock Rovers<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Victor Ozhianvuna in action. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

Arsenal have paid a League of Ireland record transfer fee of \u20ac2 million for Ozhianvuna, who will join the current Premier League leaders in January 2027 on a long-term contract, once he turns 18. He is a serious talent and will feature for Shamrock Rovers again next season, before his move to the Gunners.<\/p>\n

Forwards<\/p>\n

Max Kovalevskis<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Shamrock Rovers<\/p>\n

\"MaxMax Kovalevskis. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

Kovalevskis returned from a serious knee injury in April, having been sidelined for nearly a year, and became a regular in Shamrock Rovers squads thereafter. Manager Stephen Bradley rates him highly, having first blooded him with the seniors in 2024. Scored Ireland\u2019s fourth goal in Wednesday\u2019s opening group stage win over Panama.<\/p>\n

Brody Lee<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Cork City<\/p>\n

\"RepublicRepublic of Ireland’s Brody Lee at Dublin Airport ahead of the Republic of Ireland under-17s flight to Qatar. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

Were he not in Qatar on World Cup duty, the Tipperary native would be at Aviva Stadium tomorrow as part of the Cork City squad preparing to face Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup final. He has made seven appearances for the Rebels since joining from Shamrock Rovers\u2019 academy in July.<\/p>\n

Gavin McAteer<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Finn Harps<\/p>\n

\"GavinGavin McAteer. Photograph: Seb Daly\/Sportsfile <\/p>\n

McAteer has turned heads since bursting on to the scene with Finn Harps\u2019 first team in 2024, aged 15, and has been on trial with Celtic and Nottingham Forest over the past year. This season, he made 32 appearances in all competitions for Kevin McHugh\u2019s Harps and remains on the radar of a host of clubs.<\/p>\n

Michael Noonan<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Shamrock Rovers<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Michael Noonan is tackled by Panama\u2019s Jossimar Insturain. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

An emerging force in League of Ireland football and shortlisted for this year\u2019s PFA Ireland Young Player of the Year after helping Shamrock Rovers to win the league.. Noonan opened his World Cup account on Wednesday with a goal and player-of-the-match performance in the 4-1 win over Panama. He has all the attributes to be Ireland\u2019s star man in Qatar.<\/p>\n

Jaden Umeh<\/p>\n

Age: 17<\/p>\n

Club: Benfica<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Jaden Umeh in action. Photograph: Inpho <\/p>\n

The Cork man opened the scoring for Ireland in Wednesday\u2019s win over Panama, heading home from a corner in the first half. He turned heads at Caoimhin Kelleher\u2019s old club Ringmahon Rangers, before joining Cork City. But he turned down a professional contract in August 2024, to join Portuguese giants Benfica, where he plays for their under-23s.<\/p>\n

SCHEDULE (all times Irish)<\/p>\n

Saturday, November 8th<\/p>\n

Ireland vs Uzbekistan, 3.45pm, Aspire Zone, Doha, Qatar.<\/p>\n

Tuesday, November 11th<\/p>\n

Ireland vs Paraguay, 1.30pm, Aspire Zone, Doha, Qatar<\/p>\n

Friday, November 14th<\/p>\n

Round of 32<\/p>\n

Tuesday, November 18th<\/p>\n

Round of 16<\/p>\n

Friday, November 21st<\/p>\n

Quarter-Final<\/p>\n

Monday, November 24th<\/p>\n

Semi-Final<\/p>\n

Thursday, November 27th<\/p>\n

Final<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Republic of Ireland Under-17 Fifa World Cup Squad Goalkeepers George Moloney Age: 15 Club: Southampton Goalkeeper George Moloney.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43,1842],"class_list":["post-128048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-republic-of-ireland-mnt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}