The Republic of Ireland will begin their first ever U-17 World Cup campaign later today and a Laois man is among the 21-player squad.
Portarlington’s Ade Solanke, a left-back who plays for FC Lorient in France, is set to play a key role at the competition in Qatar.
While the Solanke family now live in Newcastle in Dublin, Ade was brought up in Portarlington to Nigerian parents Busola and Michael.
He has six siblings, almost all of whom play football at some level.
Solanke attended primary school in St Patrick’s BNS Portarlington and his talent was evident from a very early age.
In 2016, he helped his school win the Offaly Primary Schools Futsal competition.
He scored two goals in the final as Portarlington defeated Mucklagh NS in the final – 6-4.
Solanke began his club soccer career at Arthur Griffith Park who are from Lucan in Dublin.
He then played for Monasterevin AFC and Newbridge Town before transferring to Shamrock Rovers.
Solanke spent several years there before moving to FC Lorient earlier this year where he has featured for the reserves, who play in the French fourth tier.
FC Lorient are a feeder club of Premier League side AFC Bournemouth and it is speculated that Solanke may move there when he turns 18 in January.
This will be Solanke’s second major tournament with Ireland as he was the youngest member of the squad at the Under-17 European Championships in 2023.
And speaking to Neil O’Riordan of the Irish Sun, he explained what it means to be part of an Ireland male team who compete at their first World Cup at any level in 22 years.
Solanke said: “It’s a huge moment for Irish football. We’re all honoured to be a part of it as well.
“We’re excited to have that exposure as well and gain new experiences from this huge tournament.”
With two – and possibly three – to progress from a four-team group also including Panama, Paraguay and Uzbekistan, hopes are high they can reach the knockout stages.
Ireland reached this stage after just missing out on qualification for the UEFA European U-17 Championships.
In the Elite Phase of qualifying, they defeated Iceland and Poland but lost out to Belgium which left them second.
But as one of the best second placed teams, they became one of 11 European teams at the 48-team competition.
The tournament began on Monday, with Ireland’s opening game today against Panama at 12.30pm Irish time.
The young Boys in Green are next in action against Asian opposition in Uzbekistan which will take place 3.45pm on Saturday, November 8.
They then play their final group game against Paraguay on Tuesday, November 11 – kick-off 1.30pm Irish time.
The Republic of Ireland’s debut at the U-17 World Cup will be shown live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player.
Republic of Ireland Men’s U-17 FIFA World Cup Squad
Goalkeepers: George Moloney (Southampton), Alex Noonan (Shamrock Rovers), Corey Sheridan (Finn Harps).
Defenders: Ryan Butler (Wexford), Josh Cullen (Finn Harps), Vinnie Leonard (Dundalk), Ade Solanke (FC Lorient), Oisin McDonagh (Venezia), Finn Sherlock (Hoffenheim), Sean Spaight (Dundalk).
Midfielders: Rory Finneran (Newcastle United), Ramon Martos (UD Almeria), Grady McDonnell (Club Brugge), Kian McMahon-Brown (Burnley), Goodness Ogbonna (UCD), Victor Ozhianvuna (Shamrock Rovers).
Forwards: Max Kovalevskis (Shamrock Rovers), Brody Lee (Cork City), Gavin McAteer (Finn Harps), Michael Noonan (Shamrock Rovers), Jaden Umeh (SL Benfica).
Republic of Ireland FIFA U-17 World Cup Fixtures/Schedule
Wednesday, November 5 | Panama vs Ireland, Aspire Zone, Doha, Qatar, kick-off 12.30pm
Saturday, November 8 | Ireland vs Uzbekistan, Aspire Zone, Doha, Qatar, kick-off 3.45pm
Tuesday, November 11 | Ireland vs Paraguay, Aspire Zone, Doha, Qatar, kick-off 1.30pm
Friday, November 14 | Round of 32
Tuesday, November 18 | Round of 16
Friday, November 21 | Quarter Final
Monday, November 24 | Semi Final
Thursday, November 27 | Final
