Brentford B defender Nico Jones made his first appearance for Republic of Ireland Under-20 last night. The 20-year-old was involved in a non-cap friendly match against Ireland Amateurs. Nico played 58 minutes in the contest, which was won 1-0 by Ireland Amateurs.

Nico arrived at Brentford in the summer of 2021 having departed Sky Bet League One side Oxford United. He had previously come through the youth ranks at Fulham. He played eight times for Oxford before joining The Bees on a two-year contract last summer.

It was a second international call-up for Nico, who played once for Republic of Ireland Under-18. Last night's friendly was played at Home Farm FC in Dublin as Ireland took on a team comprising the best of the country's non-professional players. The game was settled by a first half goal.

Nico started the match and played just under an hour at centre back. The group trained for three days before the match and was taken by Republic of Ireland Under-21 boss Jim Crawford, who was looking at potential recruits for his team in the coming years. Nico will return to Brentford in the coming days.