Walsall defender David Okagbue and on-loan Stoke City midfielder Darius Lipsiuc have been named in the Ireland Under-21s squad for their upcoming friendlies against Croatia and Qatar.Jim Crawford's squad will head to the Gradski Stadion in Zagreb for their final preparation before the start of the European Championship Qualifiers in September, as they face Croatia on Friday, 6th June, before taking on Qatar Under-23s on Tuesday, 10th June.
Looking ahead to the game, Crawford said: "These two games will be huge in terms of the preparation for the European Championships Qualifiers, and we look forward to testing ourselves against quality opposition.
"Croatia have long had great pedigree in their youth teams and as for Qatar they are an emerging team in international football and will be a challenge.
"This is a young squad, we’ve nine players still in their teens, but the majority of those nine are playing first-team football or around the first-team environment.
"It’s important we look at all options available to us, to put us in the best shape come September.
"We’ve had some solid performances already as a group, and we saw that in particular in the last game against Hungary, and we’ll be looking to build on that."
Republic of Ireland Under-21s Squad
Goalkeepers: Killian Barrett (Sheffield Wednesday), Noah Jauny (Stade Brestois), Aaron Maguire (Tottenham Hotspur), Andrew Wogan (Stockport County)
Defenders: Sam Curtis (Sheffield United), Sean Grehan (Bohemians, on loan from Crystal Palace), Alex Murphy (Newcastle United), Cory O’Sullivan (Shamrock Rovers), David Okagbue (Walsall), Gabriel Otegbayo (Sheffield Wednesday), Jacob Slater (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Midfielders: Jacob Devaney (Manchester United), Darius Lipsiuc (Walsall, on loan from Stoke City), Jack Moorhouse (Manchester United), Jamie Mullins (Brighton & Hove Albion), Adam Murphy (Bristol City), Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh (Southampton), Cathal O’Sullivan (Cork City), Harry Vaughan (Hull City)
Forwards: Warren Davis (Drogheda United), Joe Gardner (Nottingham Forest), Jad Hakiki (Sligo Rovers), Mason Melia (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Mark O’Mahony (Brighton & Hove Albion)