Luxembourg v Ireland, Stade de Luxembourg, Sunday, 7.45pm – Live on RTÉ 2 and Sky Sports
An unwritten rule that comes with playing for the Republic of Ireland is that it should enhance a club career across the water and beyond. Not the other way around. This used to be the norm and appears to be happening once again.
Take Matt Doherty, arguably doing enough swashbuckling in the Portugal games to force new Spurs manager Antonio Conte to see the 29-year-old for what he really is – a gold standard right or left wing back.
Doherty and Ireland captain Séamus Coleman are expected to continue policing the right side at a frosty Stade de Luxembourg on Sunday night, which will be a 9,300 sell out as hundreds of Irish fans living on the continent magically appear among the home support.
“I feel fine and good and ready to go,” said Coleman when asked about his unending hamstring battle. “I always put it this way – if I’m fit, I’m fit. Whether that be for Everton or Ireland, I will give my all.
“I’ve had a few niggles and sometimes, if I was like maybe another player and putting myself first, then maybe the niggles wouldn’t reoccur. But for me personally I will always push the boundaries and I won’t give it the correct time frame that is needed.
“I will try to push the manager at Everton or the manager at Ireland and sometimes it’s me that suffers because of that and I say time after time that I’m definitely going to change it and give it more time to recover.
“But I can’t do it. I can’t put myself first. If the team needs me – Everton or Ireland – I’m there for the team and I will do all I can to play. What happens tomorrow is up to Ireland but I feel fine and fit and ready to go. The recurring injuries are more so because I don’t think about myself before the team.”
If that’s the 32-year-old’s public opinion, imagine the inspirational words he is saving for team-mates ahead of cap number 63.
Andrew Omobamidele is running out of time to be fit , although the teenager’s sore Achilles was tested on Saturday night in the stadium as the rest of the squad did possession and passing drills, despite Luxembourg coach Luc Holtz’s wildly inaccurate branding of Ireland as “long ball, British” merchants.
But heady days in the green jersey are here again as international nights in the company of Champions League stars are launching Chiedozie Ogbene and Callum Robinson into the consciousness of Premier League managers.
Ogbene, who has been unplayable in League One this season and against Portugal last Thursday, is Ireland’s secret weapon no more.
“Chieo’s a credit to himself because nothing has come easy for him,” said Ireland manager Stephen Kenny. “He’s had to earn the right to go and be the player that he is and he’s always looking to improve. That hunger is important because you’re nothing without hard work, which is a fundamental requisite to be a top player. He still has some way to go but he’s looking at ways to work and improve on that.”
In stark contrast to his contorted face while trying to explain the 1-0 loss to Luxembourg last March at a “soulless” Aviva Stadium, Kenny now looks and sounds as comfortable as he did when pre-Peak6 Dundalk ruled the League of Ireland.
“Of course we want to have more points than we have,” said Kenny of Ireland’s six-point return from seven matches. “We are not trying to hide behind that. But listen, we have seen in recent times the quality of some of our performances and we want to continue with that. I think overall our two performances against Serbia and Portugal, both home and away, have been very good.
“Our performance against Luxembourg in Dublin wasn’t good and we are disappointed not to maximise the home advantage against Azerbaijan of course.
“I am well aware of that. Tomorrow night we want to give everything of ourselves. We won’t get anything easy. They are an emerging team that have done well. They are a different team to Luxembourg teams from other eras, so we’ve got to make sure we take the intensity that we brought against Portugal on Thursday into this game.”
Long after this generation passes the baton the memories of before and after losing to Luxembourg will remain. It’s part of the permanent record but the Irish management were still drenched in turmoil following the resignations of Damien Duff and Alan Kelly.
Revenge is a dish best served cold as temperatures plummeted to minus one in the tiny Grand Duchy on Friday evening.
And what about Ireland’s bane, Gerson Rodrigues?
There is a lot of Gerson in the way Robinson has been collecting three man of the matches on the trot while scoring zero for West Brom. Out on loan to Troyes from Dynamo Kiev, the Portuguese-born attacker has one goal from five starts in the French top flight since beating Gavin Bazunu, on debut, with a wicked strike.
He bagged another goal against his native land in a 3-1 defeat but until this week’s brace in Baku, when Luxembourg wiped Azerbaijan 3-1, he had been quiet. Gerson comes back to life long after Luxembourg failed to capitalise on their surprise win in Dublin with four heavy defeats to Serbia and Portugal for a cumulative 13-2 result.
Holtz’s squad are not as competent as several Kenny apologists noted in the aftermath of the March collapse. They should be pulled apart and left to languish in fourth spot as their minus seven goal difference would guarantee if Ireland prevail. And they really should.
Recent performances have the drifting Irish sports fan tuning in to see what all the fuss is about Josh Cullen as this vital cog in the midfield essentially runs a version of Thomas Tuchel’s 3-4-2-1 at Chelsea.
“Josh didn’t show the range of passing that we have seen since he went to Belgium, but you can’t have everything, he did play well in the second half and was influential,” said Kenny, hinting that the 25-year-old could morph into Paul Scholes at any moment.
Liam Brady – Ireland’s most creative footballer in 100 years – has consistently demanded more from the Irish midfield so Sunday offers fertile ground to sate old Chippy.
The team Kenny fields will be fascinating and possibly unchanged. Enda Stevens could give way to James McClean at left wing back as Ireland hunt further up the pitch. Adam Idah’s need to repeat his strong-man display on the Algarve and prove to the incoming Norwich City manager Dean Smith that his growing pains are over, may have to wait until the last 20 minutes.
“I’ve a lot to consider,” said Kenny.
He certainly does. Because results matter again. That stalled after losing to Luxembourg as Kenny showed the courage of his convictions to dig into the talent pool and mould a team, largely from fresh clay, that is already showing the same bursts of pride as their long retired predecessors.
There’s more talent coming but staying the course means proving that defeat to Luxembourg was a blip, not a reality Irish football have to get used to.
“We definitely want to win tomorrow night, that’s the ambition,” added Kenny before the final training session as Irish supporters filled the local bars to celebrate the rugby before switching focus to the soccer.
“I think there’s no point in me going back to last March. I think since then, we’re on a good run of form and we want to maintain that for as much as we can. The players have improved. These are different environments.”
Different days entirely with better times a coming. Right?
LUXEMBOURG (possible): Schon; Jans, Chanot, Malget, Pinto; O. Thill, Pereira, Barreiro, Rodrigues; S. Thill; Sinani.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (possible): Bazunu; Coleman, Duffy, Egan; Doherty, Cullen, Hendrick, McClean; McGrath, Ogbene; Robinson.
Referee: Tamàs Bognàr (Hungary).
