Noel King has called Aston Villa defender Derrick Williams into his Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Hungary tomorrow in Kecskemét and Italy on Monday in Casarano.

Despite losing to Turkey last month at the Showgrounds, the Irish still retain an outside chance of finishing second in the qualification group but they need a very strong finish to the campaign starting with a repeat of the victory they secured over Hungary last August.

The visitors are, however, without James Collins, Conor Clifford, Niall Canavan and Seán Scannell, all of whom have had to withdraw since the original squad was named.

“It’ll be down to how we approach it and how we perform,” says King. “It’s a very important game for us. We must keep the campaign alive. We don’t want to go to Italy with nothing to play for. It’s vital we get the three points.”