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Gibraltar national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 23, 2019 at 5pm UK
 
Republic of Ireland national football team

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Ireland begin Euro 2020 qualifiers - the key talking points

Ireland begin Euro 2020 qualifiers - the key talking points
© Reuters
New manager Mick McCarthy has decisions to make ahead of his first match.

Mick McCarthy will launch his second spell as Republic of Ireland manager in Saturday's opening Euro 2020 qualifier in Gibraltar.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding the game.

New era, new approach?

McCarthy's predecessor Martin O'Neill guided the Republic to Euro 2016, where they reached the last 16 courtesy of a famous victory over Italy having already beaten world champions Germany on the road to France. However, his final year in charge proved a dispiriting one as wins and even goals proved hard to come by, and fans will hope the new manager takes a more progressive approach.

Start as you mean to go on

  1. Denmark
  2. Georgia
  3. Republic of Ireland
  4. Switzerland
  5. Gibraltar

The fixture list has presented Ireland with a chance to launch their Group D campaign in style. Their only two meetings with Gibraltar to date have yielded 11 goals without reply, while their nine clashes with Georgia have brought eight wins and a draw, although that came in the last game between the nations with the Georgians having proved significantly more difficult to beat in recent years.

Getting it right down the right

Matt Doherty, right, has excelled for Wolves in the Premier League
Matt Doherty, right, has excelled for Wolves in the Premier League (David Davies/PA)

Regular Premier League players are few and far between in the Republic squad and it is McCarthy's misfortune that two of his most accomplished performers play their club football in roughly the same position. Everton right-back Seamus Coleman was named captain by O'Neill with his consistency of performance before he suffered an horrendous double-leg fracture providing a fine example for his team-mates, while Wolves wing-back Matt Doherty has gone from strength to strength since his club's elevation to the top flight. McCarthy traditionally favours a four-man defence, but has not ruled out the possibility of Doherty taking up a midfield role.

Forward thinking

The Republic played nine games in 2018, won just one of them and scored only four goals. With Shane Long injured, McCarthy's striking quartet of Sean Maguire, David McGoldrick, Aiden O'Brien and James Collins have just 14 appearances and a single goal between them and finding the right combination of players to both create chances and take them will be a major focus.

Could Jack be the wild card?

Jack Byrne, left, is in Mick McCarthy's squad
Jack Byrne, left, is in Mick McCarthy's squad (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Back in 2016, the then 19-year-old Jack Byrne so impressed O'Neill that he invited him to train with the senior squad, and he made no secret of his confidence in his own ability. Three years on, former Manchester City trainee Byrne, who has had spells with Cambuur in Holland, Blackburn, Wigan, Oldham and Kilmarnock, is now back in Ireland with Shamrock Rovers, for whom he chose the right moment to score against Sligo Rovers in front of the watching McCarthy last Friday night.

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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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