Cork's Colin O’Brien helps Ireland qualify for the first ever FIFA U17 World Cup 

Cork's Colin O’Brien made history by leading the Republic of Ireland U17s to the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever.

The former Cork City star will travel to Qatar for the tournament finals in November, with a squad that includes wonderkid Jaden Umeh.

The striker, who came through at Ringmahon Rangers and Cork City before moving to Benfica, scored four goals for the U17s as they navigated a convoluted road to the two tournaments that involved two qualifying windows for the upcoming European Championships.

Unfortunately, there was no double delight as Ireland missed out on a place in Euro 2025 by finishing second in the group.

Belgium finished top and Ireland were a point behind the Red Devils with six points collected.

Umeh scored four goals during the qualifying tournament, with his biggest contribution a brace that gave the team a 2-0 victory over Poland.

The Boys in Green had to sweat it out after defeating Iceland on Tuesday afternoon as they needed results in games involving Denmark and Israel going their way.

It came down to goal scoring, and everything went the way of the team managed by O’Brien, who is best known locally for helping Cork City win the League of Ireland Premier Division in 2005.

Ireland’s road to Qatar began with 3-0 victory over Scotland at Inver Park, a result that left the team level on points with Lithuania and the two teams had the same amount of goals scored.

It came down to discipline, Ireland progressed because they were given less yellow cards by match officials during the three games played in the mini-tournament.

O’Brien is a long-time servant to the U17s with his career including a run to the Euros in 2018.

The Boys in Green reached the quarter finals with a squad that includes now senior internationals Adam Idah, Troy Parrott, and Jason Knight. 

They faced a stacked Netherlands outfit that featured Jurriën and Quinten Timber and Brian Brobbey in Chesterfield and controversially lost on penalties after goalkeeper Jimmy Dunne was sent off over a second yellow card during the shoot-out.

O’Brien also guided the team to the quarter finals in 2023 and the tournament’s journey ended with a 3-0 defeat to a Spain side that had a young Lamine Yamal in their ranks.

The coach’s latest adventure included an Elite Phase group with play Belgium, Poland, and Iceland this month.

Ireland started their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to the Red Devils and responded with a Umeh brace giving them a 2-0 victory over Poland.

The Iceland result set up possible qualification and the team got that far by knocking in 5-0 goals against the far away rivals.

Umeh once again scored twice, and Ireland’s place in the tournament finals was secured with a combination of results going their way.