Ireland Under-21s take on Sweden Under-21s in the first of a friendly double-header in Marbella.

Full-Time
Two second-half goals from Sweden win the game. Plenty of chances for both teams but the more experienced Sweden get the win Marbella. The teams go head-to-head again on Sunday.

Half-Time
Scoreless at the break but big chances for either side with both goalkeepers being kept busy. Glory Nzingo, Rocco Vata and Mark O'Mahony have all gone close for Ireland.

Starting XI

James Abankwah captains the side, with Noah Jauny, Glory Nzingo, Sean Moore and Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh all set to make their first Under-21s appearances. 

Match Conditions

A severe weather warning was issued to the Andalusia area of Spain with heavy rainfall hitting the south coast of the country from Tuesday evening. As a result, the fixture against Sweden was moved to an evening kick-off with the venue changed to the Marbella Football Center.

The weather come kick-off is expected to be far more settled.

Match Preview 

Jim Crawford's side will use the games as an opportunity for a new group of Irish internationals to impress and stake a claim in future Under-21s squads. 

James Abankwah (8 caps), Mark O’Mahony and Rocco Vata (5 caps ) will be the most experienced of the players in the group with other Under-21 caps, Conor O’Brien, Alex Murphy, Sean Grehan and Ed McJannet the only other players to have been capped.

Rocco Vata has five Under-21s goals placing him joint third as all-time Under-21 goalscorer along with Mark Kennedy, Andy Keogh, Aiden O'Brien, Reece Grego-Cox and Adam Idah. 

Quotes 

Ireland Under-21 Head Coach Jim Crawford said: "It's a fresh start and the players are looking forward to it. We've a number of players who were involved in the last campaign who are good to go again for the next qualifiers and that's one of our learnings from previous campaigns. It's about using windows like this to embed your principles and that requires patiences. We must remember that many of these players would have missed out on international football due to Covid, so that's something else to consider.

"We've got this window to have a look at players. In March we've another chance to bring other players in. There were a number of players very close to be being called in but we didn't get an opportunity to get out to their games, so March allows us to do that. Plus you have the Under-19s, where there are a number of players who are pushing for places."
 

Republic of Ireland Under-21 Squad

Goalkeepers: Noah Jauny (Stade Brestois), Aaron Maguire (Tottenham Hotspur), Conor Walsh (Sligo Rovers).

Defenders: James Abankwah (Udinese), Sean Grehan (Crystal Palace), Darius Lipsiuc (Stoke City), Alex Murphy (Newcastle United), Connor O’Brien (Accrington Stanley), David Okagbue (Walsall, on loan from Stoke City), Gabriel Otegbayo (Sheffield Wednesday), Jacob Slater (Brighton & Hove Albion).

Midfielders: Jad Hakiki (Dundalk), Ed McJannet (Lecce), Jamie Mullins (Brighton & Hove Albion), Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh (Southampton), Glory Nzingo (Swansea City), Rocco Vata (Watford), Harry Vaughan (Hull City).

Forwards: Tommy Lonergan (Fleetwood Town), Sean Moore (West Ham United), Mark O’Mahony (Portsmouth, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), Ben Quinn (Mansfield Town), Adrien Thibaut (Crewe Alexander), Kevin Zefi (Roma).
 

International Friendly Fixtures

Thursday, November 14 | Ireland v Sweden, Marbella Football Center, Marbella, Spain, KO 7pm (Irish time) / 8pm (Local time)
Sunday, November 17 | Ireland v Sweden, Marbella Football Center, Marbella, Spain, KO 2pm (Irish time) / 3pm (Local time)