STEPHEN KENNY HAS doubled down on his stance that it’s his Republic of Ireland side’s “ambition” to win their 2022 Uefa Nations League group after today’s draw.
The Boys In Green were pitted against Ukraine, Scotland and Armenia in Group B1.
Speaking afterwards, Kenny said: “My first impression is that it’s a really competitive group. I think Ukraine getting to the quarter-finals in the Euros was a good achievement, Scotland have won their last six games, Armenia finished ahead of Iceland in their group.
“So I think it’s going to be a very, very competitive group. I think all of the teams are capable of taking points off each other so it’s really exciting from our point of view.”
In October, the manager said, “Our ambition is to win the group. We’ll be taking it extremely seriously by prioritising it.”
Asked today if Ireland can still come out on top, he responded: “Yeah, obviously we’re third seeds in the group. People wouldn’t expect that [to top the group] against teams that have been in the Euros, but that will certainly be our ambition.
“We’re going into the competition to win matches and to do well in that tournament. Without doubt, that’s our ambition.”
"We're third seeds in the group so not many people would expect us to win the group but that will certainly be our ambition..."
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) December 16, 2021
Stephen Kenny reacts to the UEFA Nations League draw and believes it is a really exciting draw 👍#COYBIG | #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/nest1k4wQ8
The games will take place in June and September next year. The first four games take place in a stretch from 2-14 June, with the final two games slated from 22–27 September.
The precise dates and order of fixtures are yet to be announced by Uefa.
Ireland will be promoted to League A if they top their group, and will be relegated to League C if they finish bottom. The link between the Nations League and qualifying for Euro 2024 has yet to be confirmed, but it is expected that group winners will be guaranteed a play-off for the Euros, while it’s also anticipated that seeding for the Euro 2024 qualifiers will be determined by Nations League finishing.
Having failed to qualify for the World Cup, the Nations League games are the only competitive matches Ireland will play in 2022.
“You can see the improvement in our own team,” Kenny continued. “Apart from Ronaldo’s 97th minute winner — when he broke the world record — that’s our only defeat in 10 games. You can see the progress, since March, we have scored 20 goals, you can see the players emerging, we’re a young emerging team. We’re improving, we’re getting better.
“There’s a lot of passion, real support for the team and all of the players that have come into the team. We’re looking forward to the group, it’s exciting to have those four games in June in 10 or 11 days.
“The games at the Aviva Stadium are magnificent, full houses, we’ll definitely sell out our games.”
Having previously noted that there’s “more to come,” Kenny added:
“Well, the objective of this team and the way we built this team is to qualify for Germany 2024 and that’s a major objective and one of the things about the Nations League; that obviously winning the group or possibly finishing second even could give you a play-off for the Euros, and that’s motivation enough.”
The42 reported this week that the FAI are offering Kenny and his management team contract extensions to include the qualifying campaign for Euro 2024, with it previously speculated that the former Dundalk boss may only be given a short-term extension.
- with reporting from Gavin Cooney.
