STEPHEN KENNY TODAY names his squad for Ireland’s latest triple-header: a friendly at Wembley against England along with the closing Uefa Nations League games against Wales and Bulgaria.
What is at stake this month?
On a happier timeline, the England friendly would have been replaced with the Euro 2020 play-off final against Northern Ireland, but this month’s games are not without jeopardy.
Ireland are currently ranked among the top 20 sides in Europe in Fifa’s World Cup ranking, and so will be second seeds in the World Cup qualifying draw were it held tomorrow.
The draw will be held on 7 December, however, and so Ireland will have to navigate these three games in order to cling on to their spot as second seeds.
It’s too early to forecast what results Ireland will need to remain as second seeds, but the more games they win, the better. It is technically possible Ireland win all three games and still drop down to third seeds, but that is unlikely.
Beyond that, Kenny could do with some good results for more tangible reasons. Five games into his reign, Ireland have yet to win, or indeed score from open play.
Performances have improved and this has not been ignored in media coverage, but that is a tune that needs to be amplified by a couple of good results.
Ireland could also do with avoiding relegation to League C of the Nations League, and are currently a point ahead of bottom-placed Bulgaria.
They should have been relegated in 2018 – a rejigging of the format by Uefa handed them an undeserved reprieve – but dropping a division will result in some decidedly unglamorous and hard-to-sell ties with the likes of Estonia, Lithuania and, of course, Georgia.
Our hopes of sneaking into the World Cup playoffs via the Nations League are gone, given only group winners qualify for that particular back-door.
What shape is his squad in?
The bombshell news came yesterday afternoon, with David McGoldrick announcing his international retirement. McGoldrick said he made the call in the interests of his family and his club career, and was likely informed by the fact he will be 35 by the time the 2022 World Cup swings around.
Nonetheless, it is a major blow in Kenny’s attempt to qualify for said World Cup, as McGoldrick has arguably been his nation’s best player over the last two years.
Elsehwere, Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy are injury doubts.
Of further concern is the fact many of Kenny’s players have not had much first-team football since the last international match. None of Darren Randolph, Callum Robinson, Robbie Brady, Aaron Connolly, Conor Hourihane, Jayson Molumby, or Shane Long have started a game at club level since the last camp.
Robinson has played 78 minutes off the bench across three games; Brady has 38 minutes over two games for Burnley; Connolly and Long have featured for 12 and nine minutes respectively; Randolph, Hourihane, and Molumby haven’t played at all.
Elsewhere, Shane Duffy has been playing regularly at Celtic but has been out of form, and while manager Neil Lennon has condemned media criticism of his defender, he has acknowledged Duffy is struggling for form and has discussed the issue with him.
Duffy was excellent across last month’s international games, so perhaps his poor club form will be less relevant for Kenny.
Will we see any surprise inclusions?
Given last month’s disruption, there are already very few players who haven’t been given a chance by Kenny.
Jason Knight might keep his senior sport, though Dara O’Shea is doubtful with injury.
Michael Obafemi, meanwhile, hasn’t played for Southampton’s first team since September so is well out of contention.
Domestically, Jack Byrne hasn’t played since the second day of October so his inclusion looks slim, while it remains to be seen whether any Dundalk players have played their way into contention through their European exploits.
The answer is probably not, though Michael Duffy has been considered by Kenny for earlier squads, and it would be interesting to see the extent to which Chris Shields features in his thoughts should James McCarthy miss out through injury.
Is there likely to be further Covid-19 disruption?
Hopefully not, given the last three games were utterly undermined by Covid cases. Aaron Connolly and Adam Idah missed the Slovakia play-off as close contacts of an ultimately falsely positive FAI staffer, while Robinson, Alan Browne, John Egan and Callum O’Dowda missed the subsequent game with Wales as close contacts of another positive test.
All were deemed close contacts as a result of where they sat on the plane.
All aspects of the last camp have been reviewed by Kenny and the FAI, with players canvassed for their experiences at club level. It remains to be seen if anything is done differently this time around, though it’s understood the seating plan was reviewed for the flight to Finland.
What will be in Ireland’s favour this time around is the fact they will be doing less travelling. The players are expected to stay in the UK and assemble in London ahead of the England friendly, and will not necessarily have to fly when travelling to Cardiff for the clash with Wales.
It means the only pre-game flight they will have to take is back to Dublin for the Aviva clash with Bulgaria.
Republic of Ireland fixtures
12 November: vs England (Wembley, international friendly)
15 November: vs Wales (Cardiff, Uefa Nations League)
18 November: vs Bulgaria (Dublin, Uefa Nations League)
