Kildare's Noonan and McCarthy called up to Ireland U21 squad for the first time

Michael Noonan and Cathal McCarthy have received their first Republic of Ireland Under 21 international call ups by Head Coach Jim Crawford when he named a squad of 23 for the opening two games of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers against Moldova and Andorra.

The pair are among a host of new faces named in an exciting squad picked by Kildare resident Crawford ahead of new qualifying series.

Noonan created headlines in February of this year when he broke a European record set by Romelu Lukaku by scoring as a 16-year-old in the UEFA Conference League Knockout play-off against Molde in Norway, and then attended school in Rathangan the next day.

Now 17, he has continues to feature regularly for Rovers and came on as substitute against Portuguese side Santa Clara as they won 2-1 in the first leg of the Conference League Play-Off last week. Rovers will look to complete the job and qualify for the group stages on Thursday evening in the second leg at the Tallaght Stadium.

The call up for Caragh’s McCarthy continues a memorable spell for him. He made his Championship debut for Hull City against Blackburn Rovers last Saturday, 24 hours after receiving his Leaving Cert results.

That was as centre half but McCarthy, who turns 19 this weekend, is listed as a midfielder by the FAI. That’s where he played a lot of his football during pre-season for Hull City and he’s clearly capable of featuring in both positions.

Elsewhere in the squad, Watford pair Rocco Vata and James Abankwah return having been part of Heimir Hallgrímsson's senior team in March.

There are also first Under-21s call-ups for teenage Liverpool winger Trent Kone-Doherty Southampton’s Romeo Akachukwu and Derby County’s Freddie Turley.

Manchester United’s Jacob Devaney gets a second call-up having impressed in the June internationals in Croatia along with QPR’s Cian Dillon. They are joined by League of Ireland Premier Division in-form striker Mason Melia who is back with Crawford’s squad after becoming the youngest player to score for the Under-21s in March.

Ireland travel to Moldova next week where they’ll take on the Moldovans in Nisporeni on Thursday, September 4 before returning home to face Andorra at Tallaght Stadium in their first home game of the campaign on Tuesday, September 9.

Republic of Ireland Under-21s Squad 

Goalkeepers: Noah Jauny (Stade Brestois), Aaron Maguire (Tottenham Hotspur), Andrew Wogan (Chester FC, on loan from Stockport County).

Defenders: James Abankwah (Watford), Jacob Devaney (Manchester United), Sean Grehan (Doncaster Rovers), Alex Murphy (Newcastle United), David Okagbue (Peterborough United), Jacob Slater (Brighton & Hove Albion), Freddie Turley (Derby County).

Midfielders: Romeo Akachukwu (Southampton), Jad Hakiki (Sligo Rovers), Darius Lipsiuc (Solihull Moors, on loan from Stoke City), Cathal McCarthy (Hull City), Jamie Mullins (Wycombe Wanderers), Adam Murphy (Bristol City), Harry Vaughan (Hull City).

Forwards: Cian Dillon (Queens Park Rangers), Trent Kone-Doherty (Liverpool), Mason Melia (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Michael Noonan (Shamrock Rovers), Mark O’Mahony (Reading, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion), Rocco Vata (Watford).

UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers (kick-offs are Irish time) 

Thursday, September 4 | Moldova U21 v Ireland U21, Nisporeni Central, Nisporeni, Moldova, KO 5pm 

Tuesday, September 9 | Ireland U21 v Andorra U21, Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, KO 7.30pm