Ireland's under-17s have been drawn against Germany in the group stage of the UEFA European Championships.
The Boys in Green will also face Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina in Group C of the 16 team tournament which will be held in Croatia from May 3rd to May 19th, with the Top 5 sides advancing to the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in India this coming October. Ireland and three other nations had submitted a bid to host that latter tournament but lost out to India.
Ireland won the European Championship tournament in 1998 when it was still a tournament for under-16s, with a squad featuring future senior internationals John O'Shea, Andy Reid and Liam Miller.
Ireland qualified for the 2017 tournament after topping a group featuring Faroe Islands, Slovakia and Cyprus in the elite round stage and it will be third time an Irish side will have featured at the finals tournament in the under-17 era.
In 2008, they finished bottom of their group in Turkey and in 2015 also propped up a tough group featuring England, Netherlands and Italy.
The 2017 Group Stage
Group A: Croatia (hosts), Spain, Turkey, Italy
Group B: Scotland, France, Hungary, Faroe Islands
Group C: Germany, Republic of Ireland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group D: Netherlands, England, Norway, Ukraine
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