Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni called up newcomers Marc Wilson,
Greg Cunningham and James McCarthy for next month's friendly
against Brazil.
Wilson is a 22-year-old central defender with Portsmouth,
Cunningham a 19-year-old defender at Manchester City and McCarthy a
19-year-old midfielder with Wigan.
The match at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on March 2 will be
Ireland's first since losing to France in a World Cup qualifying
playoff in November. The Irish were eliminated 2-1 on aggregate
after France striker Thierry Henry's handball set up an equalizer
in their second-leg 1-1 draw.
"I look forward to working with my squad again after the
disappointment of Paris," Trapattoni said. "The priority now is to
build on the progress made during the last campaign and prepare
ourselves over the coming months mentally and tactically for an
important Euro campaign."
Manchester United defender John O'Shea is sidelined with the
leg injury he picked up in the game against France. Trapattoni has
left out Celtic defender Darren O'Dea and Hibernian's Liam Miller
and Anthony Stokes.
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Goalkeepers: Shay Given (Manchester City), Keiren Westwood
(Coventry), Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe).
Defenders: Richard Dunne (Aston Villa), Stephen Kelly
(Fulham), Kevin Kilbane (Hull), Kevin Foley (Wolves), Sean St.
Ledger (Preston), Paul McShane (Hull), Marc Wilson (Portsmouth),
Greg Cunningham (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Aiden McGeady (Celtic), Damien Duff (Fulham),
Darron Gibson (Manchester United), Glenn Whelan (Stoke), Keith
Andrews (Blackburn), Stephen Hunt (Hull), Liam Lawrence (Stoke),
James McCarthy (Wigan).
Strikers: Kevin Doyle (Wolves), Robbie Keane (Celtic), Shane
Long (Reading), Leon Best (Newcastle).
