The Republic of Ireland today announced their youth squads for numerous age groups for the March international break, and two Celtic academy talents, Rocco Vata and Bosun Lawal, were among the names listed.
Vata will join up with the under-19s for their trio of Euro Elite Round Qualifiers against Slovakia, Estonia and Greece, respectively.
CONFIRMED | The Ireland MU19 squad for the Elite Round Qualifiers in Wexford 🇮🇪@cliftonvillefc’s Sean Moore earns his first Ireland call-up ☘️
March 22 | 🇮🇪 v 🇸🇰
March 25 | 🇮🇪 v 🇪🇪
March 28 | 🇮🇪 v 🇬🇷Full details 👉 https://t.co/hXOB3EnzEe#IRLU19 | #COYBIG | #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/wweSlCMkQH
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 15, 2023
There are high hopes for the 17-year-old who made his first team debut for Celtic back in December at both club and international levels. The same can be said for his B-team compatriot, Bosun Lawal.
The 19-year-old was part of a 20-man squad which was picked by Ireland u21 boss Jim Crawford for a friendly against Iceland u21s in Cork later this month.
CONFIRMED | Ireland U21 squad for International Friendly with Iceland in Cork ☘️
A first Ireland call-up for @Official_NCFC Tiernan Brooks 👏
🇮🇪 v 🇮🇸
📍| Turner’s Cross, Cork
📆 | Sunday, March 26
⌚️| KO 4pm🗞️🎟️ 👉 https://t.co/A888Yhy5o9#IRLU21 | #COYBIG | #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/Gz00ApeNrK
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 15, 2023
This season, Lawal did spend a prolonged period on the sidelines through injury; however, he has still racked up 16 appearances for Celtic’s B team in the Lowland League in 2022/23, scoring four goals and assisting one from centre back. Despite this, Lawal is rather interestingly listed as a midfielder in the squad list as he looks to build upon his two Ireland u21 caps later this month.
Also in the u21s squad alongside Lawal is Johnny Kenny. The striker is currently out on loan at Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland from Celtic. Armstrong Oko-Flex will partake in this month’s friendly as well. At 21, the attacker is plying his trade in the West Ham academy following a three-year stint in Glasgow between 2018 and 2021 in which he failed to capture the imagination.
In terms of other Celtic international news, Callum McGregor will play for Scotland against Cyprus and Spain. Meanwhile, Oh and Daizen Maeda were called up for South Korea and Japan, respectively. Carl Starfelt is due to represent Sweden with several other Celts awaiting their nations to announce their March squads, such as Montenegro for Sead Haksabanovic and Canada for Alistair Johnston.
