The Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualification campaign has reached crunch-point after just four games with Sunday’s Group B clash with the Netherlands pivotal to their dwindling hopes.
Defeat would leave Ireland trailing in the wake of France, the Dutch and Greece and all but mathematically unable to make it to Germany next year.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding a crucial fixture.
Clock running for Kenny?For his critics, Kenny’s reign is fast reaching the point of no return. Under the 51-year-old, who was appointed as Mick McCarthy’s successor in April 2020, Ireland have won only five of the 25 competitive matches they have played – against Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Scotland, Armenia and Gibraltar – and are perilously close to missing out on a third tournament. Kenny has blooded a new generation of players with the 18-year-old Evan Ferguson, injured for the fixtures against France and the Netherlands, in particular prompting genuine excitement, and has vowed to play an exciting brand of football, a blend which has been welcomed by supporters. However, it is yet to pay off the hard currency of meaningful wins and a failure to buck that trend against the Dutch could signal the beginning of the end.
Rank outsidersIreland will have to significantly out-perform their FIFA ranking if they are to get the better of Ronald Koeman’s men at the Aviva Stadium. They are currently ranked 53rd while the Dutch are seventh, and their recent record does not make for encouraging reading. Azerbaijan appear in 121st place in the world list, Luxembourg 89th, Scotland 30th – a marked improvement on where they stood ahead of their defeat at the Aviva in June last year – Armenia 90th and Gibraltar 198th.
Striker lightTiming is everything in football and the loss of blossoming talent Ferguson to a knee injury just days after the Brighton teenager rattled in a Premier League hat-trick against Newcastle could hardy have come at a worse time. Kenny asked Norwich frontman Adam Idah to lead the line with support from Chiedozie Ogbene and Jason Knight in Thursday night’s 2-0 defeat by France, and his options remain limited with the absent quintet of Ferguson, Callum Robinson, Mikey Johnston, Michael Obafemi and Troy Parrott having been joined by Will Keane after the game in Paris. Aaron Connolly will hope for a chance, but Idah remains the most likely spearhead for an attack largely blunted in Paris.
Dutch courageIf Ireland need inspiration ahead of a daunting task, they can cast their minds back 22 years to the day the Dutch last lost in Dublin. Few neutrals gave McCarthy’s men much chance of beating a star-studded Dutch side which included Edwin van der Sar, Jaap Stam, Marc Overmars, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert and substitutes Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Pierre van Hooijdonk in a World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne Road in September 2001, particularly after Gary Kelly’s 58th-minute dismissal. But Jason McAteer’s strike secured a famous win which helped to propel his side to the finals in the Far East on a day which lives long in the nation’s sporting memory.
Koeman on strongRonald Koeman endured an ignominious start to his second spell as Netherlands boss when his side were trounced 4-0 in France at the start of the campaign. However, the former Everton and Barcelona manager has steadied the ship since and a regulation 3-0 victory over Gibraltar coupled with Thursday night’s win against Greece by the same score either side of Nations League finals defeats by Croatia and Italy have got their qualification bid back on track. A third would leave them six points better off than the Republic with a game in hand.
Nagelsmann hits out at 'racist' poll about make-up of Germany squad
Julian Nagelsmann has condemned a "racist" survey from German public broadcaster ARD, which asked respondents whether there should be more white players in the national team.
State broadcaster ARD asked 1,304 participants whether they would like to see more white players representing Germany at Euro 2024, with 21 per cent of respondents answering yes.
Germany and Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich described the poll as "absolute nonsense" on Saturday, saying the diversity of the national team was a major positive.
Coach Nagelsmann echoed those sentiments during a media briefing at the team's Herzogenaurach training base on Sunday, saying: "It is racist. I feel we need to wake up.
"Many people now in Europe had to flee, searching for a safe country.
"Josh responded really well, with a very clear and thought-out statement. I see this in exactly the same way. This question is insane.
"There are people in Europe who have had to flee because of war, economic factors, environmental disasters, people who simply want to be taken in.
"We have to ask: What are we doing at the moment?
"We in Germany are doing very, very well, and when we say something like that, I think it's crazy how we turn a blind eye and simply block out such things."
Southgate: No decision made on Grealish's place at Euro 2024
Gareth Southgate is yet to decide if Jack Grealish will make his final 26-man England squad for Euro 2024, pointing to the fierce competition for places out wide.
Grealish made 10 appearances in total at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup, but nine of those came off the bench as he played the role of impact player.
All 35 of his England caps have come under Southgate, but a stop-start campaign with Manchester City has seen his place called into question ahead of the Euros.
Injuries and poor form limited Grealish to just 20 appearances across all competitions in 2023-24, after he provided five goals and seven assists as City won the treble in 2022-23.
Ahead of this week's warm-up friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland, Southgate said Grealish's attitude has never been in doubt.
"He has been really bright and he loves being here. He's had a good energy about his training," Southgate said.
"This season he has not played as much. I'm sure he would have liked that to be different but we know the qualities he can bring.
"He is a player we enjoy working with and a character we enjoy having within the group."
However, with Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, James Maddison and Eberechi Eze all capable of playing in the wide areas, some have questioned if Grealish will be retained when Southgate cuts his 33-man squad to 26.
Asked if Grealish was at risk, Southgate said: "I don't think we're defining that just yet. I think we know where we're likely to be.
"It's hard to be quite so specific because we keep sitting down and saying: 'Okay, if it's this or this'. Then somebody else in the room says: 'What about if we lose that player there, or that one doesn't come through with his injury? Do we need another one in this area?'
"Time is our friend this week. It's worth using the time.
"There are a lot of good players in that area of the pitch and they are all competing. We think we know who the best have been across the season.
"What we don't totally know is how many we need to take or how many we can allow ourselves to take because of the cover we might need in other positions."
Memphis Depay to leave Atletico Madrid as a free agent
Memphis Depay has confirmed he is leaving Atletico Madrid after 18 months at the Civitas Metropolitano.
Depay joined Atleti in a €4million deal last January after struggling to make an impression at Barcelona, initially signing a two-and-a-half-year contract.
However, the Netherlands international – who has been named in Ronald Koeman's squad for Euro 2024 – has now agreed to part ways with the club 12 months early.
Depay scored nine goals in 31 league appearances throughout his time with Atleti, though the form of Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann limited him to just 12 starts.
In a post to X, the attacker hinted the parting was not entirely amicable, writing: "It's not easy to say how I feel about writing this message because I feel that things could’ve been very different.
"Maybe it's better to keep that conversation for another time…
"To Atleti, my team-mates, the staff and especially the fans, I want to thank you for the energy and support I've experienced in my time being an Atleti player.
"I keep the good memories close to my heart. Gracias."
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