Shamrock Rovers midfielder Conan Noonan and Accrington Stanley defender Connor O'Brien have both been named in the Republic of Ireland Under-21s squad for the first time ahead of the friendly double-header against Croatia Under-21s and England Under-20s.
Jim Crawford's side take on Croatia in Zagreb this Friday before playing the English in the same city four days later.
Noonan is rewarded for his good form with the Hoops in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division, while O’Brien - who qualifies through his father from Drogheda - was a mainstay in the Accrington Stanley side in their League Two campaign.
Crawford is also boosted by the returns of Ollie O’Neill, Aidomo Emakhu, Johnny Kenny, James Abankwah and Killian Cahill who all missed March's UEFA European Under-21 qualifier win in San Marino.
Tayo Adaramola, Zak Gilsenan, Sean Grehan, Killian Phillips, and Andrew Wogan are ruled out, with the latter due to sit the Leaving Cert.
Bosun Lawal, Josh Keeley and Andrew Moran will also join the camp after the senior men's team's clash with Hungary at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night. The trio have been elevated to John O’Shea’s squad for that game.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U21s SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Tiernan Brooks (Notts County), Killian Cahill (Brighton & Hove Albion),Josh Keeley (Tottenham Hotspur)
Defenders: James Abankwah (Udinese), Sam Curtis (Sheffield United), Anselmo Garcia MacNulty (PEC Zwolle), Bosun Lawal (Celtic), Alex Murphy (Newcastle United), Connor O’Brien (Accrington Stanley), Connor O’Riordan (Blackburn Rovers), Sean Roughan (Lincoln City)
Midfielders: Baba Adeeko (Wigan Athletic), Matt Healy (Royal Francs Borains), Joe Hodge (Wolves), Andrew Moran (Brighton & Hove Albion), Conan Noonan (Shamrock Rovers), Rocco Vata (Celtic)
Forwards: Sinclair Armstrong (QPR), Aidomo Emakhu (Millwall), Calum Kavanagh (Bradford City), Johnny Kenny (Shamrock Rovers, on loan from Celtic), Mark O’Mahony (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ollie O’Neill (Leyton Orient), Armstrong Oko-Flex (FC Zurich), Tony Springett (Norwich City)
FIXTURES
Friday 7 June: Croatia U21s v Republic of Ireland U21s, Gradski Stadion, Vrbovec, Zagreb, 5pm (Irish time)
Tuesday 11 June: England U20s v Republic of Ireland U21s, Gradski Stadion, Vrbovec, Zagreb, 3pm (Irish time)
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