Luxembourg vs Republic of Ireland: Daniel McDonnell reports from Stade de Luxembourg
Irish Independent Football Correspondent Daniel McDonnell reports from Stade de Luxembourg ahead of Ireland's final warm-up game before September's World Cup qualifiers.
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RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Preview: Fresh faces jostle for a chance in Luxembourg
The mere mention of Luxembourg is enough to send shivers down the spines of Republic of Ireland supporters, but the last time these countries met actually went pretty well for the Boys in Green. Goals from Shane Duffy, Chiedozie Ogbene and Callum Robinson helped Stephen Kenny' men to a 3-0 away win in their final game of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, as a rocky year ended on a genuine high. "There's more to come," Kenny declared afterwards. Alas, it proved to be one of the sweeter moments of his tenure. Kenny was always trying to escape the shadow of his lowest moment in charge: the 1-0 loss to Luxembourg at Aviva Stadium earlier in that campaign. With no supporters present due to Covid restrictions, Gerson Rodrigues lashed home the only goal of the game. That was in March 2021, four years and three years ago. Much has changed. Heimir Hallgrimsson is the man holding the reins now, and he's been happy to praise a lot of the work Kenny did; chiefly his willingness to blood young talent. "It was a big, brave decision to do that as we're benefiting from a lot of players who now have 20-plus caps for Ireland," Hallgrimsson said a couple of weeks ago. The Icelander is a cool customer. He exudes the calm of an outsider; someone not emotionally invested in the politics of Irish football and thick-skinned enough to block out the noise. He's also got enough decent results under his belt now to kindle that most delicate of flames among Ireland fans: belief. Friday's 1-1 draw against an admittedly weakened Senegal offered more positives after March's Nations League promotion/relegation play-off slaying of Bulgaria. All roads, of course, lead to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers which begin with a September double-header against Hungary (home) and Armenia (away). "Everybody's fit... everybody wants to play," Hallgrimsson confirmed yesterday. That includes Bosun Lawal who was added to the squad on Monday. The 22-year-old Stoke City man, blighted by injuries last season, can operate as a defensive midfielder or centre-back. He was called in because Josh Honohan and Jack Taylor were slight doubts after Friday's 1-1 draw against Senegal. Both players trained on Monday. Taylor, Kasey McAteer and Killian Phillips all got runouts four days ago, with Hallgrimsson promising to give other fresh faces a shot tonight. Troy Parrott sat out the Senegal game as he recovered from a bug but is in line to get some minutes, while the likes of Jake O'Brien, Evan Ferguson and Festy Ebosele will hope for involvement from the start. Meanwhile Shamrock Rovers defender Honohan and imposing Reims 21-year-old John Joe Patrick Finn are sure to be anxiously waiting for the nod to potentially make their senior debuts. Hallgrimsson has been talking up Luxembourg's threat, pointing to their 1-0 friendly win against Sweden in March. However all is not serene in the opposition camp. They were poor in a defeat 1-0 to Slovenia last Friday, but that was overshadowed by supporter protests against the selection of Rodrigues, the matchwinner in Dublin. In April, an appeals court upheld an 18-month suspended prison sentence Rodrigues on multiple cases of assault against his ex-partner, former Miss Luxembourg Emilie Boland. The Luxembourg Football Federation issued a statement apologising for the removal of protest banners by stewards at Stade de Luxembourg during the game, saying: "Dialogue, listening, and transparency remain fundamental values of the federation." Further protests are expected tonight. "It's not a distraction, no," manager Luc Holtz said in a tetchy pre-match press conference. "The focus is on the pitch and everything outside the pitch does not distract the team and has not distracted the team." On the pitch it's been largely underwhelming bar that surprise win against the Swedes. Luxembourg only have two clean sheet in their their last 13 matches, and they're finding goals hard to come by too. Holtz's team have lost three of their last five home clashes so they look vulnerable here. Hallgrimsson insisted he'd value a quality performance over a positive result, though both would be ideal as Ireland look to get into the habit of winning football matches. "For all of us, it's important to win the game, even though in a friendly I would pick performance above winning," the boss added. "If we have a good performance, if we continue to improve in what we are doing, even though we are unlucky and lose the game, I would probably take that more than a win if we are continuing to develop the team." There's a growing body of evidence that these Irish players are buying into the head coach's vision. It helps that Hallgrimsson has shown himself to be canny and astute, his tactical tweaks playing to the strengths of the assets he has at his disposal. Tonight is about getting a glimpse at hungry fringe men while further honing Hallgrimsson's preferred shape. There's no more trial runs after this, as Ireland enter a condensed qualification campaign desperate for early momentum to further embolden those daring to believe something special could happen on the road to Canada, Mexico and the USA.
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Just how daunting will Belgium prove for Ireland in the Women's Nations League play-offs?
If the Republic of Ireland had any designs on getting back to top tier status in the Women's Nations League, they were always going to have to run a tough gauntlet. Last week's 1-0 win over Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, which delivered a modicum of salvation for Carla Ward's side after February's crushing 4-0 away defeat in Koper, meant the Girls in Green won't be promoted from League B automatically. They can still go up to League A but to do so they must get through a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off in October. The draw for that was made on Friday and pits Ireland against a Belgium team that reside six places higher than the Girls in Green in the FIFA rankings. Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, Shelbourne midfielder and former Ireland international Rachel Graham examined the task that awaits Ward's team in four months' time against a side that have had mixed fortunes against the very elite in recent months. "No matter who we were getting in that draw, it was going to be tough but I think Belgium have made big improvements over the last number of years," she said. "They've played in League A of the Nations League the last two years. Their results have been a bit mixed within their group this year. "They lost 5-0 to England and then went on to beat them 3-2, and only narrowly lost out to Spain. They lost 3-2, conceded in the 93rd and 96th minutes, so a really late defeat for them. "But they also then went and lost 5-1 to Spain, so a bit mixed and their last result then beating Portugal 3-0. "They're definitely a top team, probably at a better level than we are at the moment. "They have some good key players like their captain up front, Tessa Wullaert. She plays for Inter Milan and she has (more than) 90 goals for Belgium which is an amazing achievement. She's definitely going to be a big threat for them." As Graham pointed out, Belgium may have never qualified for a World Cup to date, unlike Ireland, but their major tournament experience is extensive having featured at the two previous European Championships and they will be at the upcoming 2025 edition in Switzerland next month which will be broadcast across RTÉ. "We'll get to see plenty of them. In their group, they'll play Spain, Italy and Portugal so at least three really good competitive games for them and they're probably going to be in better shape going into the game in October against us, having played those competitive games," she added. "Obviously, it's going to be really tough (for Ireland). The end goal is to get to the World Cup and we're obviously going to do that through a play-off position and if we do get to League A, it'll be a bit easier. "But if we do lose the play-off and stay in League B, it's a chance to work on the possession side of our game and we will get a play-off but it would just be a bit harder. "It's going to be really tough. Ideally, we would have been away in the first leg and at home in the second leg but it's reversed around. But look, it's obviously going to prove really tough but either way we can take positives from it." Ireland will have a friendly double-header against the USA at the end of this month, with some experimentation expected given the likes of captain Katie McCabe are set to be rested. One area Graham is keen to see more stability in is right back with natural centre backs deployed there of late. "When we do come up against the better teams, we will need someone a bit more quick and dynamic in that role," she said. "Anna Patten is now suspended for the first leg against Belgium and you'd imagine Jessie Stapleton will slot back into centre half and we spoke last week about maybe getting Jamie Finn back in as soon as possible. "She's back playing for the Birmingham 19s, back fully training, so she should be definitely back by October. "It would be great if she was named in these friendlies now against USA to even just get her back around the camp, get her back training, get her minutes in the games because I think she's going to be our best option to play in there going forward."
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Nathan Collins reveals embarrassing loss that ‘affected a lot of people' gave Ireland star ‘new hunger' for World Cup
NATHAN COLLINS believes Ireland's winter of discontent can make for a glorious summer and beyond. Captain qualifiers . Advertisement 2 Ireland were hammered 5-0 by England Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 Nathan Collins believed it has stood to them Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile Confidence is rising among the squad that they can go all the way in the qualifiers after wins home and away over Bulgaria and But winter . And that agony came after The defender said: 'That one hurt and affected a lot of people. Advertisement Read More on Ireland MNT 'It was nice to have a little break away from people, reset and go again. 'If we had a good result there and there was a long wait, we would have to wait. The hurt in the dressing room after . . . it was not a nice place to be in. 'It created a new hunger for me. It definitely resetted me to want to do better and improve for the next camp. It might work in a good way for us.' That Advertisement Most read in Football Live Blog And that continued a grim few years at international level with plenty of disappointing results. One of those included an 'Don't say that on camera' - Nathan Collins' admission about Caoimhin Kelleher's move leaves Heimir in stitches Not that Collins — who was called up to the Ireland squad subsequently — looks too far into the past. He said: 'Football, people, managers and teams change. You just have to reflect on that. Advertisement 'It is about what works for us and we can't have that on our mind. 'We are here with fresh faces. It is a fresh and new game.' GOING WELL Ireland face Luxembourg with a different mindset and are full of confidence after two wins and a draw to date since that Wembley woe. And Collins believes everything is going well ahead of the World Cup campaign which starts against Aviva Stadium on September 6. Advertisement He said: 'I feel the performance against Senegal was a really big step. 'We were so comfortable in the game and in our shape. 'We performed to a very high degree and it is about pushing on, growing that and getting better. 'I just think there's a bit more of a base now in the team. There's a bit of solidity in it. Advertisement 'It was a bit all up in the air last summer , wasn't it? Everything regarding Ireland was at the time. 'But the way the squad is, the way we have our manager here, everything is solidified now. 'We're building our base, growing and we're working from that. We're trying to create momentum for us to get better. We have time to practice together again and keep creating stuff. 'If the qualifiers were today, I would be comfortable enough. Advertisement 'We know the basics of what the manager wants but also know that he wants more from us. 'But it's not today and we can do more to get better and prepare.' ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT And the former Wolves man acknowledged there are still areas where Icelander Hallgrimsson wants to see improvements from his troops. One area in particular is seeing games out, as Ireland have kept just one clean sheet in Hallgrimsson's nine games in charge to date. Advertisement Collins added: 'We could have defended better and we could have been more proactive with the chances we conceded against Senegal. 'If we want to get to the next stage we have to see games like that out. 'I think we are definitely good enough. We're good enough to go score another goal but also not concede or give them chances. 'They are the little things where we can grow. Advertisement 'There are loads of individual things as defensive and attacking units where we can grow together. 'Taking away from the last game, we've got to take our chances, see a game out, be solid — winning games like that will be massive come the World Cup.' Ireland's group is a tricky one with Hungary, Armenia and top seeds But Collins said that Ireland must make sure they are confident going into the campaign. Advertisement He said: 'We didn't need to see Sunday night to know how good 'But if we can do what we can control and the manager wants from us we will create our own problems against Portugal. 'We're a completely different team to Spain and will create different problems and defend in a different way. 'We'll frustrate them in ways they won't like. We know the standard and how good they'll be. Advertisement 'But they have to know how tough a game it will be for them against us.'
