Friendly international: Republic of Ireland v Switzerland, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm – Live on Virgin Media Two
People of Ireland, look away now, the full list of entrants for this summer’s European Championship will be complete by late on Tuesday.
Imagine what could have been had Stephen Kenny’s team not collapsed two years ago in Armenia and at home to a second-string Ukrainian side.
The play-offs for Germany 2024 have progressed without Irish football in recent days as Wales versus Poland, Ukraine versus Iceland and Georgia versus Greece duel to fill the last three lanes on the Autobahn.
Switzerland stop off in Dublin en route to the big show, where mouth-watering ties against Hungary, Scotland and the hosts await them.
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On the evidence supplied by John O’Shea’s compact outfit against Belgium last Saturday, certainly the first 30 minutes, Ireland deserve to feature at the 24-team tournament. Then again, the same could be said of Irish performances against the Dutch and French last year; competitive for half an hour before falling off the pace and losing all four meetings.
O’Shea has spoken about finding a way to win again. A scoreless draw at home to disinterested Belgians does not count as an upturn in fortunes. It was very obviously a friendly for Domenico Tedesco’s men, and Murat Yakin will hardly send out a turbo-charged version of the Swiss.
Do not be surprised if Yakin keeps Granit Xhaka on ice – like Tedesco did with Romelu Lukaku – after the former Arsenal midfielder played 90 minutes over the weekend in another nil-all match, against Denmark in Copenhagen.
A crowd below 38,000 is expected at the Aviva Stadium, seemingly due to school holidays and general disinterest in a side that has failed to secure a win of substance since beating Scotland in June 2022.
The narrative around Ireland is undeniable; they have forgotten how to sneak a win. Or, perhaps more accurately, this young squad hasn’t yet learned how to win.
“I think for us as players, we can feel that win is going to come soon,” said Dara O’Shea, whose Burnley side lie 19th in the English top flight.
“We’ve been playing some good football and creating chances, which is the important thing. If you’re getting to those areas, they will start going in and we’ll be celebrating important wins in the Aviva very soon. It’s important for us as a group to remember that.”
“The bigger worry would be if chances weren’t getting created,” said O’Shea, the interim manager. “But they are being created and there will be a time where you get those few goals and you do get across the line and win a match.
“It’s only a matter of time, it’s definitely approaching this team.”
Inspiration could spring from anywhere but Evan Ferguson will be determined to end an inexplicable 21-game goal drought for club and country. Or one from the uncapped Finn Azaz and Joe Hodge will launch a golden era for Irish midfielders by scoring a worldie. Or, and we are reaching now, big Jake O’Brien will saunter up field, on his debut, and burst the net from a Robbie Brady corner.
Disciples of John O’Shea live in hope.
Possible line-ups
Ireland: Bazunu (Southampton); Coleman (Everton), O’Brien (Lyon), Collins (Brentford), O’Shea (Burnley), Brady (Preston North End); Hodge (Queens Park Rangers), Cullen (Burnley); Ogbene (Luton Town), Szmodics (Blackburn Rovers); Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Switzerland: Mvogo (FC Lorient); Schar (Newcastle United), Akanji (Manchester City), Rodríguez (Torino); Widmer (Mainz 05), Zakaria (AS Monaco), Freuler (Bologna), Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen), Ndoye (Bologna); Vargas (FC Augsburg), Okafor (AC Milan).
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland).
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