Brian Kerr's player-by-player assessment of the under-18 squad

Dean Delaney:

I felt a bit for Dean that he didn't get to play but he missed a lot of games over the last while. Everton really weren't very helpful to us and that ended up counting against him. Still he is eligible at this level next season which is great.

Alex O'Reilly:

Before the tournament it was touch and go between Alex and Dean for the goalkeeper's jersey and I opted for Alex because he did well in Oporto. Didn't have the best of games against Croatia but saved a penalty at a vital time. Improved as the tournament went on and overall, made some good saves in the other games and was great in the penalty shoot-out. A very good tournament for him.

Thomas Heary:

One of the stars of the show. I would have liked to use him somewhere else but I didn't really have a natural right fullback in the squad so he went in there and did very well. Because of way he played he was left by himself a little bit and he coped with it very well.

Keith Doyle:

Keith was steady over the three matches. Had it put up to him in the opening game when he had to deal with Mihael Mikic but he got to grips with it. Got forward more in the other games and nearly scored against Cyprus. Did very well overall.

Richard Dunne:

Richard had a great tournament. He knew that he didn't have a great time in Iceland last year and maybe that helped to motivate him this time around. Looked a bit rusty in the first 20 minutes against Croatia but excellent after that and in the final he was the picture of decisiveness. Able to turn defence into attack very quickly and a vital member of the team.

Gary Doherty:

May have suffered a little from being under the weather. He was being treated for a throat infection before we came out here and it may just have affected him a little during the games. Like Richard he struggled a little early in the Croatia game but did a lot better against England. When I put him up front for the tail end of that match he looked a bit tired and I decided to rest him after that.

Jason Gavin:

Came in for us and did a smashing job. Looked very comfortable on the ball and clinical in the tackle. Tired a bit in the final which is understandable because he had worked hard and had to concentrate very hard to cope with the opposition at this level but came out of it very well.

Richie Partridge:

Had a great week. Given his physique and his age, he might be expected to struggle a little but he's a little ball of energy and full of invention. Brave, honest and technically very talented. His goal against Croatia was one of the highlights of the tournament but he did a lot of good things for other players around him too.

Ronnie O'Brien:

Was a little disappointed to miss out on the final which I can understand because he had done very well for us, but I had to make a decision as I only wanted to play with one winger. Played very well against England and the other bits that he played but I just felt that Richie had a better tactical awareness for the final.

Barry Quinn:

For me, he was the player of the tournament. Every game was an eight, even a nine out of 10 performance. A leader on the pitch and off it, Barry asks for a lot from the players around him, but he gives it too.

Ger Crossley:

A terrier in the centre who ran himself to a standstill. Has a tremendous ability to use his body while he is on the ball and wonderful tactical awareness. Had to do a lot for us given that he was playing without anybody outside him, but did everything we asked of him and more. In the end, I just thought he'd tired himself out a bit in the final and I decided to bring on fresh legs for him.

Stephen McPhail:

A stronger player now than he had been, Stephen started well in the game against Croatia, but then started to look a bit tired and we had to rest him. In the final he had a tough time marking one of their best players, but in the second half I thought he did a lot better when he started to be our playmaker. A good tournament for him, but maybe not a great one.

Alan Quinn:

Lit up the final when he came on, which he'd done against England, too. Alan has made a habit of scoring important goals for us and although he wasn't quite so influential against Cyprus, he was definitely one of the stars of the week. Apart from the games, though, Alan is a great lad to have along on these trips. A joker with an ability to laugh at himself, he helps everybody else to get through the week.

Ryan Casey:

After being a little frustrated that he hadn't got to do much during the group matches, I was delighted to see Ryan do so well for us in the final. I said to him the day before the final that the fact that his legs were so fresh might mean we'd be calling on him and when he did, he was fantastic. The way he struck his penalty was great to watch.

Paul Donnolly:

Came in and did very well for us when we decided to give Ger a rest. Paul is versatile and can do a few different jobs for us and while he didn't quite seem to understand the role we wanted him to play in the final - he tended to be in front of the ball a lot of the time when we wanted him behind it - he did well and got a penalty.

David Freeman:

I said back when Damien Duff pulled out of the squad that I was happy to have a player like David to come in instead. He's a very hard worker no matter what you ask him to do. And when we put him on in the Croatia game and asked him to play up front while doing a good bit of defending on the left to help Keith out, he was great. Always a player you can depend on and one who probably would have featured more if the other two strikers hadn't played so well together.

Liam George:

I'm delighted that Liam has done so well here because he is a lovely lad and a pleasure to work with in these sort of situations. Scored two goals against Croatia, one of them a real cracker, and probably worked a little too hard to score against England. Sacrificed himself a bit by chasing lost causes which gave Robbie a little more room, but got the final penalty which is wonderful. He deserves to be the hero.

Robbie Keane:

Has been great over the last week. There are no airs or graces with Robbie, he has already proven himself at senior level, but he has fitted right in here and been a great member of the squad. He also scored some great goals and then, a little ironically, was the only one to miss a penalty in the final. He'd probably worked a lot harder in that game than in the others because he knew he had to. When Liam and himself got it going together up front, as they'd done in the Croatia match, they were a joy to watch.