The young Boys In Green are currently second in Group A and with a solitary game in the March window will be looking for maximum points against a side they beat 3-0 at Turner’s Cross back in September.
 
Captain Joe Hodge and Andrew Moran both could feature together for the first time in the campaign with the two young talents joining up with the senior team ahead of next week’s friendly with Switzerland.
 
Crawford is also boosted by a fully fit squad ahead of Friday’s qualifier.
 
What they said?
 
Ireland Under-21s Head Coach Jim Crawford: “Whether it’s Italy or San Marino you’re still playing for three points. It’s about our players understanding that and respecting San Marino and know they’ll have a game plan. A result for San Marino is huge for them. It’s up to us to break them down with clever movement or individual play - there are no easy games in international football.”
 
Ireland Under-21s captain Joe Hodge said: “I wasn’t in the squad for the Italy game but I was down in Cork and I think as a group we can take a lot of confidence from the performance. We showed we can go up against the top teams but all wins are worth three points regardless of the opposition. We need to put pressure on ourselves to perform.”
 
Match Details
 
Fixture: San Marino U21 v Ireland U21
Date: Friday, March 22
KO time: 5pm (Irish Standard Time)
Stadium: San Marino Stadium, San Marino
Match Coverage: RTÉ News Channel /RTÉ Player
Match Stat: This is the first time Ireland have faced San Marino away at this age grade.
 
Match officials

Referee: Viktor Kopiievskyi (Ukraine)
Assistants: Semen Shlonchak (Ukraine), Viktor Matyash (Ukraine)
Fourth Official: Vitaliy Romanov (Ukraine)
 
Republic of Ireland Under-21s Squad
Goalkeepers: Tiernan Brooks (Rochdale, on loan from Notts County), Josh Keeley (Barnet, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Andrew Wogan (Drogheda United)

Defenders: Tayo Adaramola (RWD Molenbeek, on loan from Crystal Palace), Sam Curtis (Sheffield United), Anselmo Garcia MacNulty (PEC Zwolle), Sean Grehan (Carlisle United, on loan from Crystal Palace), Bosun Lawal (Fleetwood Town, on loan from Celtic), Alex Murphy (Newcastle United), Connor O’Riordan (Blackburn Rovers), Sean Roughan (Lincoln City)
 
Midfielders: Baba Adeeko (Wigan Athletic), Zak Gilsenan (Blackburn Rovers), Matt Healy (Royal Francs Borains), Joe Hodge (Queen’s Park Rangers, on loan from Wolves), Andrew Moran (Blackburn Rovers), Killian Phillips (Aberdeen, on loan from Crystal Palace), Rocco Vata (Celtic)

Forwards: Sinclair Armstrong (Queen’s Park Rangers), Dylan Duffy (Lincoln City), Calum Kavanagh (Bradford City), Mark O’Mahony (Brighton & Hove Albion), Armstrong Oko-Flex (FC Zürich), Tony Springett (Northampton Town, on loan from Norwich City)