Richard Dunne: Why Ireland have 'genuine chance' of going to World Cup

Extra.ie​

2 days ago

Republic of Ireland legend Richard Dunne has weighed in on the nation's World Cup qualification hopes, giving a positive outlook on the future of Irish football.
Ireland will get their qualification campaign underway on September 6 when they host Hungary at the Aviva Stadium.
Heimir Halgrímsson's side have been drawn alongside the Hungarians in Group F, which also features Portugal and Armenia. Ireland are facing a difficult qualifying group. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
The journey to the 2026 World Cup will be tough for the Boys in Green but Dunne believes that this is Ireland's best chance at making it to football's biggest tournament in a number of years.
While speaking with Irish online casino affiliate Casino.org, Dunne said: 'I was chatting to some friends yesterday and I was saying that I feel like this is the first tournament we're going into in a long time where we have a genuine chance of qualifying.
'I think we've got a big pool of players with a lot of strength and depth. We've got a system at the moment that works for us, where we're not going to be that exciting, we're not going to be playing free flowing football but we're going to be difficult to beat.
'This is something that we've lacked over previous campaigns and I'm hopeful that we're going to be in with a chance of getting a play-off place.'
The former Manchester City defender added that the current outlook of the Irish side is a 'huge improvement' of what the side looked like over the past few years.
Ireland have not qualified for a major tournament since the European Championships in 2016 and haven't made it to a World Cup since 2002.
One of the gems of the current Irish squad is, of course, Evan Ferguson.
The 20-year-old striker lit up the Premier League during his first full season at Brighton a couple of years ago but started to struggle last season. Evan Ferguson recently completed a move to Roma. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
A couple of injuries combined with getting stuck behind the likes of Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck in the pecking order meant Ferguson was out of favour and didn't have the chance to regain his previous form.
However, after completing a loan move to Roma this summer, the Meath native already looks like a sharper version of himself and has already bagged a few pre-season goals for the Italian side.
Dunne believes that the best is yet to come for Ferguson and he will ultimately be Ireland's shining star for the upcoming campaign.
He continued: 'I think you just have to look at what he did in the first couple of seasons of his career.
'He was doing really well in the Premier League and he looked the main man. People were talking about him being a 60, 70, 80 million pound player going to real big clubs.
'It's difficult when you're a young player and you break through and to get those opportunities, certainly as a centre-forward, so I think the last 18 months of his Premier League career probably isn't what you judge him on.
'You judge him on what he was before and that potential, so I think there's a real benefit in him stepping out of that Premier League spotlight and going forward and playing for another huge club.
'I think he'll start to find his feet and start to find out what type of player he is as well and we'll see the best of him over the next couple of seasons and beyond.
'I think he's a fantastic player and certainly the one who can lead the line for Ireland for years to come.' Nathan Collins could be the leader Ireland needs. Pic: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
Ireland captain Séamus Coleman is nearing his 37th birthday and only he really knows how much longer he will be on the pitch leading the side.
When his retirement comes, he will be passing the international armband down to a younger member of the squad and Dunne believes it's the new Brentford captain who is the right fit to take on the leadership role.
He said: 'It's difficult looking in from the outside but you'd normally go for one of the centre-backs or centre-midfielders and I think the fact that Nathan Collins has been given the permanent captaincy at Brentford means he fits the leading role to do it.
'He's been a standout player at times for Ireland and it's difficult because he's still a young centre-back, he's probably now coming into the prime of his career so it's probably the ideal time for him to become a captain, to become that leader and take on the extra responsibilities, because I can only see him over the next five years improving and becoming a better player.
'Hopefully, he's the one that could be the leader and step up for the next tournament.'