Ireland Men’s Under-17s have qualified for the FIFA Under-17s World Cup in Qatar after a 5-0 victory against Iceland.

The young Boys in Green reached the Finals for the first time in their history as one of four best-placed runners-up for qualification for the UEFA European Under-17 Championships.

Their final standing position of second in Group A6 with six points, seven goals scored and just one goal conceded saw them miss out on the U17 EUROs but it was still enough to see them confirm a place at the World Cup in November.

Head Coach Colin O’Brien declared qualification as ‘a great achievement for the country’. Of the 20 player squad, 16 currently – or have previously – play in the EA SPORTS LOI Academy.  

Ireland had led from the 14^th minute when Jaden Umeh netted his third of the qualification campaign. Billy Canny made it 2-0 to give the young Boys in Green a cushion heading into the break. Umeh would score his second of the game before Finn Sherlock converted from the spot for 4-0. Charles Akinrintayo wrapped up the five-star performance to give Ireland a superb 5-0 victory.

Speaking after qualification, O’Brien said: “We came here with the belief that we could qualify for the EUROs. We knew there was a double prize at stake, and while we’re disappointed to not get to the European Championships, to reach a World Cup is an amazing achievement for the players and the staff. It’s a great achievement for our country.

“We knew the group would be tight and the squad of players is in a better place than they were in October. I had a good feeling we’d compete for top spot, the defining moment in the Belgium game was their penalty. But I feel we deserved to get to a World Cup. To get to there is a reflection of the monumental effort from the players and staff over the last 11 days.

“Me and the staff always drill into the players that it’s all about getting through the first phase of qualifiers. It’s about putting yourself in the position to reach a Finals and we did that in October.

“Every game this week, the players performed exceptionally and they were hurting they didn’t win the game against Belgium and that was a positive sign within our environment. We beat Poland in Poland convincingly and put in a five-star performance against Iceland.

“There are very good players up and down this country who work with exceptional coaches. This is a great news story for Irish football and it’s a great day for every person involved with the players’ development and they should take pride they helped them reach a World Cup. No matter the age group the World Cup is a huge event that captures the imagination and attention of the public. 

“It shows that when you’re a small country a lot of it comes down to mentality and we knew within the group our mindset was at another level and we had the quality to go with that. That gave us a chance which the boys went on to accomplish.”

Ireland: Moloney, Canny, McDonagh, Leonard, Sherlock, McDonnell (Akinrintayo, 58’), Finneran (C), McMahon-Brown (McAteer, 82’), Martos (Ozhianvuna, 73’), Umeh (Brody, 81’), Hayes (Solanke, 81’) 

Iceland: Ingvason, Ketilsson, Asgeirsson, Arnarsson (C), Samuelsson (Egill Orri Arnarsson, 46’), Andresson (Kristjansson, 46’), Gudmundsson, Sævarsson (Dadasoon, 46’), Gunnarsson (Johannsson, 63’), Gurung, Gudjonsson (Halldorsson, 63’)

Referee: Danilo Nikolic (Serbia)

UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite Round Results

Wednesday, March 19 | Belgium 1-0 Ireland
Saturday, March 22 |  Poland 0-2 Ireland
Tuesday, March 25  | Ireland 5-0 Iceland

Ireland Men’s Under-17 Squad

Goalkeepers: George Moloney (Southampton), Alex Noonan (Shamrock Rovers).

Defenders: Billy Canny (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Vincent Leonard (Dundalk), Oisin McDonagh (Venezia), Finn Sherlock (Hoffenheim), Ade Solanke (FC Lorient).

Midfielders: Rory Finneran (Newcastle United), Billy Hayes (St Patrick’s Athletic), Ramon Martos (UD Almeria), Gavin McAteer (Finn Harps), Kian McMahon Brown (Burnley), Grady McDonnell (Club Brugge), Oskar Skoubo Keely (Bohemians).

Forwards: Charles Akinrintayo (Shamrock Rovers), Brody Lee (Shamrock Rovers), Billy O’Neill (Bray Wanderers), Victor Ozhianvuna (Shamrock Rovers), Cillian Tollett (Galway United), Jaden Umeh (Benfica).