Tardelli names 25-man Ireland squad

Republic of Ireland assistant manager Marco Tardelli has announced the squad for the opening two fixtures of Ireland’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

Ireland take on Armenia away on 3 September and face Andorra in the Aviva Stadium four days later.

Tardelli said: “We go into this double header of qualifiers well prepared and confident having held a successful training camp in May and played a number of competitive and challenging friendly matches over the summer.

“Playing Armenia in Yerevan will be a tough test for the team, but when we return to play our first competitive home game four days later, we hope to go to Aviva stadium having made a positive start to the campaign.”

Republic of Ireland squad to face Armenia and Andorra:

Goalkeepers: Shay Given, Keiren Westwood, Joe Murphy.

Defenders: John O’Shea, Richard Dunne, Sean St Ledger, Greg Cunningham, Kevin Foley, Stephen Kelly, Paul McShane, Darren O’Dea, Kevin Kilbane.

Midfielders: Glenn Whelan, Darron Gibson, Paul Green, Liam Lawrence, Aiden McGeady, Andy Keogh, Damien Duff, Keith Fahey, Keith Treacy.

Forwards: Robbie Keane, Kevin Doyle, Shane Long.