Blackburn striker Ben Burgess gets his chance to impress on his debut when he leads the Republic of Ireland under-18 attack in tonight's friendly against Germany at Buckley Park, Kilkenny (7.30). Manager Brian Kerr is keen to have a good look at the big striker as part of his preparations for the UEFA under-18 qualifiers in Malta in November.
Burgess, who qualifies for Ireland through his grandparents, is a big, bustling centre forward and is currently in great form having scored a hat-trick for Blackburn under-19s in a 6-1 win over Coventry at the weekend. Kerr is likely to partner Burgess with the more subtle skills of Graham Barrett in a 4-4-2 formation.
Ireland will meet Germany, who host next year's UEFA under18 finals, again at Richmond Park on Thursday night.
IRELAND (Probable) - Abdelaziz (FC Haarlem); S Byrne (West Ham United), Good-win (Celtic), O'Shea (Manchester United), Foy (Nottingham Forest); McGill (Sunderland), Dempsey (Everton), Miller (Celtic), Reid (Nottingham Forest); Barrett (Arsenal), Burgess (Blackburn Rovers).
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