Sunderland youngster Lynden Gooch has won his first-ever call-up for the Republic of Ireland.

The first-year scholar was born in the United States, has a British passport and qualifies for the Republic through his mother.

He has been named in Ireland's under-18 squad for two friendly games against Switzerland next week.

Gooch, a forward, will fly out to the Emerald Isle this weekend before heading to the Swiss town of Monthey.

The two teams will play each other on Tuesday (November 13) before meeting again two days later.

Gooch, who joined the club in the summer, has been a regular at club level this season, featuring in all but one of Sunderland's games in the Barclays U18 Premier League.