Soccer

Doubts still linger over Eiran Cashin’s availability ahead of crucial fixtures for Ireland Under-21s

European Championship: Home and away wins over Sweden have reignited qualification hopes

Eiran Cashin with his Derby County manager Wayne Rooney - the young centre back was born in England and qualifies for Ireland through a grandparent. Photograph: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
Eiran Cashin with his Derby County manager Wayne Rooney - the young centre back was born in England and qualifies for Ireland through a grandparent. Photograph: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
Daire Walsh
Thu Jun 02 2022 - 16:29

European Under-21 Championship: Republic of Ireland v Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tallaght Stadium, Friday at 7.30pm

The Republic of Ireland Under-21s will look to take a giant step towards potential qualification for next year’s European Championships when Bosnia and Herzegovina pay a visit to Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening (kick-off 7.30pm).

From 17 previous attempts under a variety of different managers, Ireland have failed to qualify for this major underage international tournament. Their only second-place finish in qualification to date was for the 2007 Championships — when there were just three teams per group — and despite coming close on a number of occasions, they are yet to make it to the playoff rounds.

While Italy are the current pacesetters in Group F, victories over Bosnia on Friday night and Montenegro on Monday (also in Tallaght) would see Jim Crawford’s side leapfrog Sweden into the runners-up spot in the table in advance of their final game of the campaign away to Italy on June 14th.

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Following back-to-back defeats against Montenegro and the Italians in October and November of last year, the prospect of Ireland reaching the 2023 finals in Romania and Georgia seemed rather ominous. However, subsequent home and away wins over the Swedes have reignited their challenge and developed a feelgood factor around the squad for this crucial block of games.

When Ireland faced Bosnia in Zenica last September, goals from Tyreik Wright and Conor Coventry propelled them towards a 2-0 triumph. The Bosnians have picked up some good results since then, but find themselves out of the running for a playoff spot.

Nonetheless, Friday’s game will be their final one of the campaign and Slobodan Starčević's charges won’t want to sign off on a sour note.

Although the 13 players that featured in the 2-0 win against Sweden at the Borås Arena back in March have been included in the squad for the next three games, doubts still linger over the availability of defender Eiran Cashin. Born in England, the Derby County star qualifies to represent Ireland through a grandparent.

He enjoyed a breakthrough season at the Rams, making 18 first-team appearances in the Championship — 14 of which were starts — and bagging his first goal as a professional in a 2-0 success over Blackpool at the end of April.

Unfortunately, the process of securing a passport and citizenship for Cashin has proven complicated and, as of Thursday morning, the necessary paperwork that would allow him to don the green jersey wasn’t in place. Should this issue remain unresolved by the close of business on Friday, Cashin will not only miss Friday evening’s game, but Monday’s clash with Montenegro as well.

This is the kind of headache that Irish boss Crawford could do without, given how important the next 11 days are set to be for his group. That said, the former Bohemians and Shelbourne midfielder has had to deal with a number of issues since assuming the Under-21 reins from Stephen Kenny in April 2020 and will expect his side to deliver the goods on the pitch regardless of what is happening off it.