Dan Rose has designs on keeping the Ireland U-21 goalkeeping spot after the 17-year-old Schalke stopper excelled in Saturday’s debut, despite a 1-0 defeat to Denmark.

Jim Crawford’s side lost the final friendly of their three-match camp in Marbella, yet Rose’s brilliance kept Denmark’s winning margin to the minimum. The Ireland manager stressed the exertions from the previous six days, the 2-0 defeat to Switzerland and 2-1 victory over Australia, hampered his side in the afternoon heat.

A Denmark side, comprised primarily of U-20 players from their domestic league, were dangerous from the outset. And the Irish defence was far too generous in allowing Emil Frederiksen to swivel from Mikkel Kaufmann’s pass and unleash a peach from 20 yards into Rose’s top corner. 

Arsenal defender Mark McGuiness cleared William Boving’s shot off the line before that opener while Mathias Ross Jensen’s header rebounded off the crossbar.

Up next for Ireland is the start of the quest to reach a first-ever major tournament. Trips to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Luxembourg lurk in early September, the first games of a European qualification group that also includes Italy and Sweden.

“We’ve got good goalkeepers but I’ll give everything to play for my country,” said Rose, who was born in England and declared for Ireland through his mother. “The standard is a lot higher than my last international with the U-17s. We just had nothing going forward. We kept getting boxed in, defending. Their goal was a good strike but I was there for everything else.”

Rose rejected a contract renewal offer from Everton 12 months ago to join a German club renowned for producing top German goalkeepers Jens Lehmann, Manuel Neuer and, most recently, Alexander Nübel.

Unfortunately, though, they’ve just been relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time since 1988.

“I want to push on with the U-19s next season and hopefully get my chance to train with the first-team,” he said of his club plans. “The aim over the next few years is getting the club back to where we belong.”

IRELAND – D Rose; A Lyons (F Ebosele 46), M McGuinness, O McEntee, W Ferry; C Coventry, R Johansson; T Wright (G Kilkenny 65), C Noss (B Lawal 46), A Gilbert (L Watson 80); JJ Kayode (C Grant 82).