What time and TV channel is Ireland U21 v Italy on today in their Euro 2025 qualifier?

The Ireland Under 21 side takes on Italy Under 21s in Trieste tonight in a European Championship qualifier.

Ireland face a monumnetal task as they travel to Italy tonight in search of a place at next year's Under-21 European Championships.

Jim Crawford's side were left flabbergasted by a botched refereeing decision on Friday night that cost them all three points against Norway.

But the job on hand is still the same as they travel to Italy with automatic qualification still on the cards.

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Here is everything you need to know about the game.

What TV channel is it on and what time is kick-off?

The game kicks off at 5.30pm and can be seen on RTE 2. Coverage begins at 5 pm.

What do Ireland need to do to qualify?

A win means they top the group and qualify automatically. If they lose or draw they can still make the play-offs but only if their result tomorrow is better than group rival Norway's result against Turkey. That Turkey/Norway game kicks off at the same time. If Norway win and Ireland draw or lose, then Ireland are out.

Match Preview

The biggest night of 11 young Irishmen’s lives doubles up as both a last chance and a gateway.

Because victory in Italy against the Azzurri this evening won’t just give Jim Crawford’s Irish Under 21 team a night to remember, but also a place in next summer’s European Championship finals, as well as in Irish people’s hearts.

For right now, football fans need a cause and a team to believe in. Crawford’s Cubs could be the one but if that is to happen then they need to overcome all the sporting prejudices that have occupied their minds since the cradle.

“They win games for fun,” the Ireland captain, Andy Moran, said of tonight's opponents, Italy. “This is what they do. They qualify for tournaments.”

His manager also referred to their Group A opponents as a ‘powerhouse’ but just when you thought the pair were veering a little too close towards an inferiority complex, they checked themselves.

“We’ve no fear,” said Moran, two words repeated by Crawford.

And with good reason.

Throughout this six-team group, Ireland have been the best side. They led Latvia, Italy and Norway in their home matches, Italy and Norway when the game was deep into stoppage time, but somehow managed to draw each time.

Had their conversion rate been better they’d already have made it to Slovakia next summer. Instead their fate won’t be known until around 7.20pm this evening.

“These are the days you live for,” said Crawford. “If you were given this opportunity when the draw was made, you would have said ‘no problem’. It is a credit to the group of players that we are in this position.”

Yet deep down he knows they should be in a better position. On Friday, against Norway, the referee missed a blatant tug on Sean Roughan’s shirt in the build-up to Andreas Schjelderup’s 94th minute equaliser. Throw in the goal they gave up on 95 minutes against Italy last year and the two times they fell asleep against Latvia a month ago and you have every reason to be frustrated.

But Crawford isn’t. This cause isn’t yet lost. Indeed they feel they can do something that no Irish Under 21 team has ever done before and get a win that ensures they top their group. This is Ireland’s 28th attempt to do so. Twenty-seven previous times they have failed. Can it finally happen?

Crawford said: “Over the last few years we have been getting closer and closer and I do sense it is coming. I do think the belief is there to say, ‘yeah, we can see this is possible’.

“Our first game together as a group, we played Iceland, we went down to 10 men early, but we won that game; soon after we played a Ukrainian team who went on to reach the semi-finals of the European championships, and we drew with them, we were fantastic that day. These different challenges this group have had, these steps they have made, have increased their confidence that they can make it.”

What would be one small step for man would be a giant leap for Irish football.

For decades our Under 21 team was neglected. Results remained poor. No one ever paid the price. But Crawford has helped change perceptions as well as scorelines. Now they go into matches expecting to win, backed by a powerful spirit where the team's ethnic diversity is a reflection of the changing Ireland, and where their tactical set-up extols both modern and old fashioned virtues.

There’s a touch of Jack Charlton’s ‘put em under pressure’ ethos about the team’s work ethic and yet their build-up play is the complete opposite to the Charlton philosophy. Instead Crawford’s playbook is built around patience and speed, the willingness to wait, then the confidence to pounce.

Good players are at his disposal, Moran - the Stoke midfielder - being the best of them. But other names too should be remembered. Sinclair Armstrong is a gem; Roughan another raw talent. Mason Melia has yet to break through but he soon will. Sam Curtis, the right back, is made of the right stuff. Joe Hodge is absent for this game but whenever he has been present, he has been brilliant.

Crawford said: “There has been a lot of hard work to get to this stage. To be one victory away from winning the group would be a remarkable achievement if we did it.”

Three points guarantees them first place. A play-off will be theirs also if Ireland’s result betters Norway’s, who play Turkey tonight at the same time.

Moran said: “It is fair to say we have made a great account of ourselves. We have not looked out of place against these top countries.

“The thing that gives us a no fear mentality is the fact we have done it before. We have played Italy and have come so close to beating them. We have come so close to beating Norway, two of the best teams in the group. We have nothing to fear with the quality we have got in our group. Put it this way, we have done ourselves proud.”

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