Everton defender Shane Duffy has been called up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the forthcoming UEFA Under-21 Championships qualifiers against Hungary and Turkey.The Republic youngsters will host Hungary at the Showgrounds, Sligo, on Thursday, September 1 before travelling to Manisa to take on Turkey on Tuesday, September 6.
Duffy was part of the side that beat Austria 2-1 in a friendly earlier this month, and manager Noel King has stuck with 15 of the players that were in that squad.
King is keen to build on an impressive performance against the Austrians but knows that his charges will face a tough test against Hungary.
"It's always nice to get off to a good start in a qualifying group but nobody will be qualified on the first day. It's a lengthy process to reach the finals but we'll obviously be looking to start as well as possible.
"I've watched Hungary several times. I saw them at the Toulon tournament during the Summer and have looked at quite a few DVDs. They're an excellent side with players playing top division in their own country and the Bundesliga.
"The players enjoyed the Austria game and we were all delighted with how it went so we'll be looking to achieve a similar result and performance this time around."
The full Republic of Ireland squad is; Ian McLoughlin, Aaron McCarey, Lanre Oyebanjo, Shane Duffy, Gavin Gunning, Rob Kiernan, Niall Canavan, Aidan White, Richie Towell, Mark Connolly, Adam Barton, Conor Clifford, James McCarthy, Jeff Hendrick, Aaron Doran, Robbie Brady, Sean Scannell, Joe Mason.
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