Hale called up to Irish under-21 squad

Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager Noel King has called up Galway United midfielder Rory Hale to his 24-man squad for the upcoming UEFA Under-21 European Championships qualifying matches against Norway and Israel.

Ireland are currently top of Group Five after claiming maximum points from their first two matches with a 1-0 win over Kosovo and a 3-1 win in Azerbaijan.

Noel King’s side face Norway on Thursday, October 5th with kick-off at 7.45pm followed by Israel on Monday, October 9th with kick-off at 3.30pm; both games are being played at Tallaght Stadium, Dublin.

Republic of Ireland U21 squad to face Norway and Israel:

Goalkeepers: Kieran O’Hara (Manchester United), Liam Bossin (Nottingham Forest).

Defenders: Danny Kane (Huddersfield), Ryan Sweeney (Stoke City, on loan at Bristol Rovers), Shaun Donnellan (West Bromwich Albion, on loan at Walsall), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Corey Whelan (Liverpool), Ryan Delaney (Burton Albion, on loan at Cork City), Trevor Clarke (Shamrock Rovers)

Midfielders: Josh Cullen (West Ham, on loan at Bolton Wanderers), Harry Charsley (Everton), Conor Shaughnessy (Leeds United), Liam Kinsella (Walsall), Jake Mulraney (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Connor Ronan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Olamide Shodipo (QPR), Connor Dimaio (Chesterfield), Rory Hale (Galway United), Jake Doyle Hayes (Aston Villa), Dessie Hutchinson (Brighton and Hove Albion).

Attackers: Reece Grego Cox (QPR), Ryan Manning (QPR), Ronan Curtis (Derry City), Joe Quigley (Bournemouth, on loan at Newport County).