CALLUM O’DOWDA’S FORM at Cardiff City has seen him leap toward the top of Ireland’s options at left wing-back, ousting Robbie Brady and Ryan Manning in the process.
O’Dowda first broke through as a forward player but has been recently retooled as a left-sided defender, playing at left wing-back but predominantly at left-back this season for Cardiff City.
His performances in the Championship this season has seen him rise in Stephen Kenny’s estimation, and he has thus been included as a wing-back in the squad named today to face France in a Euro 2024 qualifier on Monday week along with a friendly against Latvia next Wednesday.
O’Dowda’s inclusion comes at the expense of Robbie Brady and Ryan Manning, both of whom are in the Championship with Preston and Swansea respectively.
“We have several players in that position”, said Stephen Kenny at the Aviva Stadium earlier today. “It’s very tight, a lot of players playing in the Championship. Callum, in my opinion, has probably been Cardiff’s Player of the Year this year and I think he offers us something different as well.
“Callum is quick and dribbles at pace and he’s very direct, a different type of player, but Ryan is an excellent player, there’s no doubt, and offers different qualities, coming on the inside and playing, and a really good footballer.
“Robbie had a really good spell earlier in the season. I thought he was absolutely excellent for Preston earlier in the season. I was full of admiration for how well he was playing.
“In recent weeks, he’s not been in the team – although he did play midweek – and we’ve been at a lot of Preston’s game, we’ve got a lot of players, so these are the fine margins, you know.”
Evan Ferguson was named in the squad though Kenny was coy when asked if the teenage striker would start against France.
“Evan has been very good. He has made it look easy at times, he has come in and he makes good decisions, he has a variety of attributes. He leads the line well, he links the play well, and he has the capacity to score goals. Those are good attributes.
“We will have to see [if he will start]. You can’t pick your team too early in these circumstances, there are games at the weekend, as we have seen with Adam Idah last night. He has another game on Sunday, and then it’s a quick turnaround to Wednesday, the Latvia game. We are hoping that he comes through the game on Sunday and he can play a significant part in the window. We need starters and players to come on, with the level of intensity of the French game.”
The reference to Adam Idah is his potential withdrawal from the squad. Idah started Norwich’s 1-1 draw with Huddersfield last night but was taken off just before half-time with a foot injury. He left the ground on crutches and has gone for a scan, though asked Kenny not to be ruled out of contention until the results of that scan are returned.
Kenny has named a familiar squad for the upcoming games, with Mikey Johnston the only new face, having received his international clearance. 23-year-old winger Johnston represented Scotland at underage but has now thrown his lot in with Ireland. He is currently on loan at Vitoria Guimaraes from Celtic, and Kenny hinted he will see limited gametime in this window.
“Mikey is someone I’ve obviously been aware of for a long time”, said Kenny. “He broke on the scene very quickly at Celtic and obviously played in four cup finals before he was 22 and so forth, but he had been out injured for a year and it was a tough one for him.
“With a young player, to lose your rhythm like that, it affects your career and he obviously saw a lot of players come in and by-pass him at Celtic then because they signed so many players while he was injured, so for him to go to Portugal was a brave step in a way.
“It’s a tough league, a lot of good teams in it and they’re challenging for a European place. It’s not all upward curve for Mikey, it’s a different culture. He’s played 21 games this season between starts and off the bench.
“He has different characteristics that will add to the squad, I feel. We mustn’t expect a major impact in this camp, but it’s a could introduction for him.”