Gavin McAteer assisted the fifth and final goal for the Republic of Ireland Under-17s as they beat Iceland 5-0 to seal a spot at the Under 17 World Cup in Qatar this November.
It was a final European Championships Round 2 Group A game for Ireland in their bid to qualify for the finals in Albania this summer, but a second placed finish with only one team qualifying from the group means they just miss out to Belgium.
But with the four best group runners-up from the seven groups qualifying for the World Cup, Ireland’s six points and emphatic +6 goal difference means that they will qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history.
The Finn Harps midfielder missed out in featuring in the opening two games for Colin O’Brien’s side as they were defeated 1-0 by Belgium before a 2-0 win over group hosts Poland.
But the 16-year-old was brought on in the final group game with ten minutes remaining and set up the final goal scored by Charles Akinrintayo.
Jaden Umeh scored twice for Ireland, with one from Billy Canny and Finn Sherlock each before the introduction of the Milford man in Gryfice.
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