Chris Coleman sprang something of a surprise by including an untried Liverpool youngster in his squad to face Ireland.
Ben Woodburn may only be 17-years-old and has only made a handful of appearances for Liverpool, but he has been included in Chris Coleman’s Wales squad to face Ireland in a World Cup qualifier on Friday week.
Woodburn is eligible to play for England but has represented Wales at underage level, with Coleman looking to bed him into the senior international set-up early to ward off interest from Gareth Southgate.
The young winger is from Cheshire but qualifies to play for Wales through his maternal grandmother, and has starred at youth level.
Woodburn was catapulted into the limelight last November when he became Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer, coming off the bench to score against Leeds United in the EFL Cup.
Also included in the Wales squad are Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, both of whom have recently returned from long term injury.
Wales squad to face Republic of Ireland on 24 March
Goalkeepers W Hennessey, D Ward, O Fôn Williams.
Defenders A Williams, C Gunter, N Taylor, J Collins, J Walsh, S MacDonald, B Davies, J Chester.
Midfielders J Allen, A Ramsey, A King, J Ledley, J Richards, D Edwards.
Forwards G Bale, S Vokes, T Lawrence, T Bradshaw, B Woodburn, H Robson-Kanu.
