MCMAHON-BROWN EXCITED FOR U17 WORLD CUP IN QATAR

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Teenager part of historic moment with Republic of Ireland

2025-11-04T11:03:43.007Z

MCMAHON-BROWN EXCITED FOR U17 WORLD CUP IN QATAR

Teenager part of historic moment with Republic of Ireland

2025-11-04T11:03:43.007Z

Teenager part of historic moment with Republic of Ireland

At the back end of last week, Kian McMahon-Brown flew out to Qatar as part of the Republic of Ireland squad taking part in the U17 FIFA World Cup.

It’s a history making achievement for the young Boys in Green, who have never qualified for the tournament before.

For McMahon-Brown, it’s the culmination of years of hard work and dedication, including a fantastic 2024/25 season that included 34 goals and 15 assists as a first-year scholar.

When asked to describe his overriding emotion heading into the tournament (before linking up with his international team-mates), he said: “I think it’s just excitement!

“I’ve been waiting five or six months since we’ve qualified for this, and finally got the call up to say that I was going.

“At the moment it’s excitement, but I’m sure when I’m out there there’ll be some nerves too.”

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The Republic, who are managed by Colin O’Brien, have been drawn in Group J alongside Panama, Uzbekistan and Paraguay.

They will face those teams in that order on 5th, 8th, and 11th November, with the top two of each group guaranteed to progress to the knockout stages. A select number of third-placed teams will also go through.

“I haven’t done much research into the teams,” McMahon-Brown continued.

“Any country is going to have players that can affect the game in a certain way, so I don’t think it’s about looking into your group too much.

“Each team has qualities of their own, so it’s a case of making sure we perform to our best and seeing where we go from there.

“There isn’t a huge difference from club football, but I’d say international football’s a lot sharper. If you take too many risks, you’re more likely to get punished.”

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Playing in Qatar is likely to brings its challenges, with the temperature sitting in the early 30s during the day.

The players will of course have all the best physical, medical, and nutritional support to help them through, and McMahon-Brown will also have his family behind him.

He continued: “I’ve never been to Qatar before, and it will be exciting to experience a different country and culture.

“We know the weather’s going to be difficult for the football and we might sometimes have to adapt the way we play.

“I’ve got my mum, dad, brother and grandad coming out to watch, and I think they’re more excited than I am!

“It means a lot to them – especially my grandad’s side of the family who are from Ireland.”

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McMahon-Brown’s grandad was born in Castle Blaney in County Monaghan, while the teenager was born in County Kildare.

The striker moved back to England at just a few months old and has lived here ever since, spending time with Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers before joining Burnley.

Such is the significance of the country making this tournament, national broadcaster RTE will be showing all three group stage matches live.

It would be easy to get overawed by the sense of occasion, especially given the fact that McMahon-Brown only turned 17 at the start of August.

However, the Rainhill-based forward is keen to just focus on the task in front of him – helping his team win games of football.

“As soon as you get on the pitch you forgot about any external pressures, and it’s all about the game in front of you,” he said.

“It’s good that the games are being streamed, so family who can’t make it can watch. It can also get your name out there a bit more too.

“Going out there is going to give me a lot of confidence, and I think I’ll come back a fitter player too, because of the weather.

“The last few camps I’ve played as a nine or a 10, which is where I play for Burnley, so that’s helped me.”