HAKIKI FOCUSSED ON IRISH OPPORTUNITY

Dundalk FC’s Jad Hakiki is hoping to make the most of the Irish opportunity that has fallen his way after receiving a late call-up from Ireland Under-21 Head Coach Jim Crawford for two friendlies against Sweden in Spain this week.

The 20-year-old, who arrived at Oriel Park from Shelbourne in the summer transfer window this year but whose future is still to be decided, replaced Adam Murphy in Crawford’s squad and, having got the shout on Friday morning, was on the plane on Monday.

Speaking from the team’s hotel base in Marbella on Tuesday night, the attacking midfielder spoke of his happiness at getting the call and his focus on trying to break into the squad for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers.

“The trip has been good so far, I’ve settled in well,” Jad told dundalkfc.com. “It’s a good group. I’m happy to be here. I was planning on going away (after the league season), but then I got the call-up so I’m obviously happier to be here than anywhere else.”

Hakiki, who knows a number of the squad personally but is working under Crawford and his coaching staff for the first time, added: “There are a few lads that I’ve played in the camps with, so it has been easy to settle in. The coaching team, I don’t know as much, but they make you feel welcome straight away.”

Jad previously represented Ireland at Under-18 and Under-19 level, scoring in both grades, and he is looking forward to another positive camp, for a squad based on players eligible for the next qualification campaign.

“It has always been enjoyable with the Irish teams,” he said. “You get a lot of different learning points. It’s a different environment to being at your club. I’ve enjoyed every camp I’ve been in. You always get some learning out of it.”

He continued: “There’s a new age group for the Qualifiers coming up, so it’s an opportunity for me to get into the squad. I was just happy to get the call-up. The main goal is to try to break into the squad. I’ll keep working away, hopefully it works out and I can get into the Qualifiers.”

Speaking on Sweden, who provide the opposition on both Thursday and Sunday, Hakiki said: “We’ll obviously look at a few clips. I haven’t played them before, so I’m just going off what I’m seeing and what we’re doing at the moment here at camp.”

While Dundalk were relegated from the Premier Division, some of Hakiki’s individual performances stood out after joining the Lilywhites in July, with his talent obvious. And, though gutted with the outcome, he enjoyed the opportunity to play first-team football.

“It’s a bit hard to say much positive when we got relegated,” Jad said. “There were a few things I would have hoped to do better to keep us in the league. But it was a good chance for me playing. I wasn’t playing much before that but I got that opportunity at Dundalk. That helped, but obviously I wished I could have done maybe more to keep us in the division.”

Everybody at Dundalk FC wishes Jad the best of luck in Spain this week.

IRELAND U21 FIXTURES

Thursday 14th November: Ireland v Sweden, Banús Football Center, Marbella, Spain, kick-off 12pm (Irish time) / 1pm (local time).

Sunday 17th November: Ireland v Sweden, Marbella Football Center, Marbella, Spain, kick-off 2pm (Irish time) / 3pm (local time).

Both games will be streamed on FAITV.

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