Hearts ace Andy Irving awarded with Scotland U21 call-up

Andy Irving has been awarded with a deserved Scotland U21 call-up. Picture: SNS

The 20-year-old has yet to be capped at that level having experienced U19 football with the national team.

Irving was first called up back in March for the double header against Croatia and Greece but those games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Scot Gemmill’s side defeated Czech Republic on Friday night at Tynecastle in what was a huge result for their qualification hopes.

A win over San Marino will put them in a strong position for the final two fixtures with four teams going for the top two spaces with the five best runners-up from qualifying making the tournament which is due to be held in Hungary and Slovenia, split across March and May next year.

Irving was due to play in Hearts’ win over Cowdenbeath on Saturday only to be replaced by Scott McGill, and his presence was sorely missed in the midfield despite the solId debut by his replacement.

"He was going to start but we got a phone call on Friday night and he got the call-up, which is great for Andy,” Hearts boss Robbie Neilson said. “For us, we missed that ability to dictate the game.”

Irving is seen as a key player for the Jam Tarts, both now and the future.

"You can see the quality he has got, his range of passing, understanding of the game,” Neilson said. “But he still needs to understand his position and where he has to be in the game for us.”