Mick McCarthy confirms Tottenham’s Troy Parrott to start for Ireland tomorrow

Set a reminder for 2:45 p.m. ET tomorrow and get ready to find a TV showing Sky Sports, because 17-year old Tottenham striker Troy Parrott is making his full international debut. Ireland boss Mick McCarthy confirmed that Party Parrott will not only get his first senior Ireland cap in tomorrow’s friendly match against New Zealand, but he’s going to start the dang football match!

Frankly, this is an ideal time for McCarthy to experiment with the next generation of Irish football talent. Ireland have a Euro qualifier on Monday, hosting Christian Eriksen’s Denmark in a hugely important tie, as both are tied at the top of Group D with 12 points. But the New Zealand match is a friendly, and it gives McCarthy a chance to see what some of these young bucks like Parrott and Celtic fullback Lee O’Connor can do in senior international football.

The match will be televised on Sky Sports in the UK, and streamed on ESPN3 in USA. That’s the same time as England play Montenegro in EURO qualifying, so if you’re a Three Lions fan find a pub with multiple TVs or just bring a second screen to stream both of them.

I, for one, welcome our new winged, colorfully-feathered overlord!