McCarthy looks to youth ahead of crunch Euro 2020 qualifier

Teenagers Troy Parrott and Lee O’Connor will be handed senior international debuts.

Mick McCarthy will send a much-changed Republic of Ireland side into friendly battle with unfamiliar foe New Zealand on Thursday night with one eye on Monday’s Euro 2020 showdown with Denmark.

McCarthy is unlikely to risk any of his big names with qualification at stake against the Danes and has already indicated that there will be several new faces in his team.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding the game.

Teenage kicks

Just as he did with Robbie Keane back in 1998, McCarthy has handed a 17-year-old striker the chance to prove himself at senior international with Tottenham’s Troy Parrott set to make his debut against New Zealand. Parrott, however, will not be the only teenager on the pitch with 19-year-old Celtic full-back Lee O’Connor, who is suspended for the under-21s’ qualifier in Armenia, also making his debut.

Familiar faces

Republic of Ireland defender Ciaran Clark is back in the fold after returning to action with club Newcastle (Niall Carson/PA)

Keeping it real

Bournemouth keeper Mark Travers is in line to win another senior international cap (Mark Kerton/PA)

Rover’s return

Shamrock Rovers’ Jack Byrne will make his first start for Ireland against the All Whites (Brian Lawless/PA)

All White on the night

Remarkably, New Zealand have not played a meaningful game for 525 days after a period of upheaval with the game’s governing body. However, new head coach and former Leeds defender Danny Hay has already set his sights on qualification for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, and will hope to mould a team around experienced West Ham defender Winston Reid, who is set to return from an 18-month injury lay-off in Dublin, and Burnley striker Chris Wood.