Gavin McAteer made his FIFA U17 World Cup debut as Ireland began their Group J campaign with a 4-1 win against Panama in Doha this afternoon.
First-half goals from Jayden Umeh and Kian McMahon-Brown had Colin O’Brien’s side 2-0 up at the break.
Shamrock Rovers ace Michael Noonan then netted the third just before the hour-mark, before Max Kovalevskis made it four a few minutes later and Panama grabbed a consolation late on.
McAteer was introduced as a 78th minute substitute, while fellow Finn Harps youngsters Josh Cullen and Corey Sheridan were also part of the squad.
Ireland’s next outing is against Uzbekistan at 3:45pm on Saturday.
