SELCUK TIDIM is back in the Republic of Ireland under- 17 squad, having recovered from injury.
Republic of Ireland Under- 17 manager Sean McCaffrey last week announced a squad of 18 players for the Uefa under-17 Championship first phase qualifiers in Luxembourg from 26 September to 1October.
Ireland face Andorra, Greece and the host nation, Luxembourg, aiming to grab one of the two qualifying spots on offer from the minigroup.
Hamburg-based Tidim (St Pauli), who has an Irish mother and Turkish father, returns to the fray alongside Robbie Brady (Manchester City) who also missed last month’s friendlies in Bulgaria due to injury.
There is also a debut callup for midfielder David O’Leary from Cork club College Corinthians. Ireland open their campaign on Friday, September 26 with a meeting against mini-group hosts Luxembourg in Diekirch (7pm) before playing Andorra on Sunday, September 28, also in Diekrich (7pm). Their final game of the first phase will be on Wednesday, October 1st when Greece provide the opposition in Beggen (7pm).
Irish manager Sean McCaffrey believes three tough games are in store for his charges in Group Five: "Each of the three opposition nations has their own strengths and we will have to concentrate on achieving our task of making it into the next phase," he said.
"We learned a lot about our squad during the two friendly matches in August against Bulgaria in Sofia and the players know what way we want them to play. We have some quality players in the panel and the return of Robbie Brady and Selcuk Tidim should give us added strength."
