Sher thing

Congratulations to Cliftonville midfielder Joe Sheridan, who made his Republic of Ireland Under-18s debut in yesterday’s friendly with Japan.

The match – which took place in Porec, Croatia – was the first of three games staged in preparation for next autumn’s European Championship qualifiers and saw Sheridan introduced as a 64th minute substitute.

Following their 2-0 defeat, Colin O’Brien’s Irish side will face Croatia on Saturday afternoon before completing their trip with a game against Portugal on Tuesday.

Ryan Corrigan and Keevan Hawthorne were, meanwhile, named on the bench for Northern Ireland Under-19s’ 4-0 loss to Denmark in yesterday’s Euro 2025 qualifier in Albania.

Corrigan was introduced for the last 10 minutes of the contest at the Niko Dovana Stadium in Durres, where Northern Ireland face Israel on Saturday ahead of Tuesday’s tussle with the hist nation in Elbasan.