2 days ago
Ireland's success will be in avoiding any more Luxembourg drama in season-ending friendly
'I HOPE NOBODY is taking them lightly', said Heimir Hallgrimsson yesterday about Luxembourg. He might as well have been Sigmund Freund telling his patients not to downplay their relationship with their parents.
It was Luxembourg, of course, who inflicted the most galling of our many demeaning blows in recent years, beating Ireland 1-0 at an empty Aviva Stadium to put Stephen Kenny's reign on an early war-footing from which it never truly recovered.
Some bad memories. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Hallgrimsson's reign, by contrast, has thus far been characterised by its relative serenity.
This is partly a function of the fact that a proper qualifying campaign has yet to begin, but also down to the easy calm of the man himself. He even got praise in the aftermath of the brutal 5-0 hammering at Wembley in November, drawing respect for at least Saying It How It Is.
'Excuses when you lose 5-0 is kind of pathetic, to be excusing or talking about positives', said Hallgrimsson in the bowels of the famous arena. 'It's embarrassing to lose 5-0.'
The aim, therefore, is to escape tonight's friendly away to Luxembourg without any turbulence to interrupt Ireland's gradual but smooth upward trajectory.
Allowing for the greater fatigue levels and the vastly reduced intensity, Hallgrimsson is doing his best to model this friendly window on the cadence of the qualifiers ahead.
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'It is a similar setup in September playing the stronger team at home and then flying away to Luxembourg, like Hungary at home and then away to Armenia', he said after Friday's 1-1 draw to Senegal.
Given Ireland must beat Armenia home and away in the group for Hallgrimsson to achieve a pass grade, he is set to resist temptation for wholesale change tonight.
An open training session on the eve of the gave journalists in attendance a sneak peek at tonight's likely selection, and the Irish Sun reported that Killian Phillips is set for a full debut having played off the bench against Senegal, likely replacing Ryan Manning.
It seems Liam Scales will get a chance to impress once again having last started on that ill-fated Wembley evening in November, while Troy Parrott has shaken off illness and out to accentuate the fact he is Ireland's first-choice striker, at Adam Idah's expense.
Evan Ferguson, meanwhile, arrived into this camp looking lean and has impressed Hallgrimsson with his sharpness, in spite of his minimal game-time with West Ham across the closing weeks of the season.
The rest, it seems, will remain as it was kicking off against Senegal on Friday.
While Ireland have looked generally more solid under Hallgrimsson and have vastly reduced the number of opposition counter-attacks to which they are subjected, they are still leaking goals. In nine games under Hallgrimsson, Ireland have kept a clean sheet only once. That came at home to Finland, and required a penalty save by Caoimhín Kelleher to preserve.
Getting out of Luxembourg with a clean sheet must be a major target among the squad.
Heimir Hallgrimsson speaking at his pre-match press conference in Luxembourg. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland's opponents, by contrast, are afflicted by all manner of turbulence. Gerson Rodrigues, who scored the winning goal in Dublin in 2021, has been included in the squad in spite of being handed a suspended 18-month prison sentence for domestic violence and assault. Some supporters brought banners protesting Rodrigues' inclusion to Friday's friendly defeat to Slovenia, and at least one fan suffered injuries when stadium security forcibly removed the banners.
The Luxembourg FA subsequently apologised, saying they had not given an order to have the banners removed, adding, 'dialogue, listening, and transparency remain fundamental values for our federation. We sincerely apologise to all those involved. We reaffirm our commitment to ensuring full freedom of opinion for all fans of football and our national team , whether outside or inside a football stadium.'
The federation added that they hoped local fans will actually attend tonight's game with Ireland.
Luc Holtz – who repeatedly described Ireland as a 'British team' and accused Stephen Kenny and his staff of 'unsportsmanlike' celebrations during Ireland's 3-0 win here in November 2021 – remains the Luxembourg manager, despite the fact he stormed off down the tunnel before the end of their 9-0 battering against Portugal in Euro 2024 qualifying. Holtz abandoned ship at 8-0, but nonetheless retains his job.
Luxembourg have hardly rocketed to international renown since beating Ireland: in that time, the only sides they have beaten have been Azerbaijan, Lithuania (twice), Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein (twice), Bosnia (twice), Iceland, Kazakhstan, and, most recently, Sweden, whom they edged 1-0 in a friendly in March.
Ireland will seek to avoid being a Luxembourg scalp again. Do that, and the serenity will last at least until the serious business kicks off in September.
Ireland (Possible XI): Kelleher; Doherty, Collins, Scales, Brady; McAteer, Knight, Smallbone, Phillips; Ferguson, Parrott
On TV: RTE Two; KO: 7.45pm
