Cork and Dublin to host Republic of Ireland Under-21 Euro qualifiers
The young Boys in Green will play their first home game in 11 months when they take on Andorra in Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday, September 9 before they will then host Slovakia a month later in Turner's Cross on Friday, October 10.
Ireland have been drawn against back-to-back European champions England as well as Slovakia, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Andorra in Group D of qualification.
Jim Crawford's side played in front of huge crowds of 5,000 plus on three occasions previously with fans getting the chance to see now senior internationals caps Festy Ebosele, Andrew Moran, Rocco Vata, Sinclair Armstrong and Killian Phillips in action.
And Crawford admits he is hoping for similar attendances this time around.
'After playing so many games away from home in the last year we're really excited to be back on Irish soil with a new generation of Ireland Under-21s internationals," he said.
'The support we've had in the last few campaigns in Cork and Dublin has been immense. The stats show we're one of the best supported Under-21s international teams in Europe which only reaffirms how much our fans come out to support football in this country.
'I look at those special occasions in Tallaght against Sweden, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina and the games in Cork against Iceland, Türkiye and Italy and on each occasion the crowd has got us over the line.
"They're a young team, with many faces people will recognise from the League of Ireland. The league is seeing a huge surge in crowds and these games are an opportunity for those fans and the communities in both cities to come out and see our boys represent our country.'
Ireland Under-21's home 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifiers
Tuesday, September 9
Ireland v Andorra
Tallaght Stadium, Dublin
Kick-Off 7.30pm
Friday, October 10
Ireland v Slovakia
Turner's Cross Stadium, Cork
Kick-Off 7.30pm.
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