McClean overlooked by Ireland

The 22-year-old former Northern Ireland U21 international was expected to be drafted into the Republic set-up after catching the eye in the Premier League this season.

He has, however, been overlooked by national coach Giovanni Trapattoni for a meeting with the Czechs at the Aviva Stadium on 29th February.

While McClean will be disappointed to miss out, with places on the plane to Euro 2012 up for grabs, there are few other surprises in the 24-man party.

Darron Gibson, who has thrived on the regular football being offered to him at Everton following a January switch from Manchester United, makes the grade, while national skipper Robbie Keane, who has netted three times during a loan spell at Aston Villa, heads a pool of five strikers.

Attitude

Trapattoni said: "This game is the beginning of our Euro 2012 preparations.

"As we face this fixture, it is important for our players to remember the attitude and performance that brought us qualification.

"The Czech Republic are a strong team, and their system is similar to Croatia and Spain.

"This game is vital in helping us choose our 23-player squad for May. We will continue to monitor our players afterwards, and keep a close eye on their fitness in the coming months."

Squad

Goalkeepers: Shay Given (Aston Villa), Keiren Westwood (Sunderland), David Forde (Millwall)

Defenders: John O'Shea (Sunderland), Stephen Kelly (Fulham), Stephen Ward (Wolves), Richard Dunne (Aston Villa), Sean St Ledger (Leicester), Darren O'Dea (Leeds), Kevin Foley (Wolves)

Midfielders: Glenn Whelan (Stoke), James McCarthy (Wigan), Seamus Coleman (Everton), Keith Andrews (West Brom), Keith Fahey (Birmingham), Darron Gibson (Everton) Damien Duff (Fulham), Aiden McGeady (Spartak Moscow), Stephen Hunt (Wolves)

Forwards: Robbie Keane (Aston Villa), Kevin Doyle (Wolves), Shane Long, Simon Cox (both West Brom), Jon Walters (Stoke)