Crawford’s men to face Israel in European play-offs

JIM CRAWFORD is under no illusion as to the scale of the task that awaits his Republic of Ireland Under 21 team in September when they take on Israel in the play-offs for a berth at the 2023 UEFA European Championship.

It is the first time that the Ireland Under 21s have reached the play-off stages and they did so off the back of a superb run in the second half of their Group F campaign that saw them win four of their final five fixtures.

Yet they now face Group B runners-up, Israel over two legs between September 19-27, with Ireland playing the first leg at home.

And while Crawford’s side have moved up four places in the UEFA Under 21 rankings from 23rd to 19th – their highest position to date at this age group – the Tallaght man, knows his side will have to be at their best if they are to fulfil dreams of reaching the European Finals.

“Israel will be a tough opponent, there’s no mistaking that” he stressed.

“They finished above Poland and Hungary in their group, who are very good teams at this level, and they also lost narrowly to the group winners, Germany in each of their games.

“They had five players called up to their senior team during this campaign which shows how well they have done.

“The talk from other countries in Nyon before the draw was that Ireland were the preferable opponent to be drawn against. That, in itself, is motivation for us.

“We’re at home first and we want a big crowd there to support us because we can’t lose sight of the challenge Israel will pose and the crowd will play their part” he insisted.