Five key talking points as Republic of Ireland face Luxembourg friendly
Kenneth Fox
Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson will make his final preparations for the World Cup qualifying campaign when he sends his side into friendly battle with Luxembourg on Tuesday evening.
Fresh from a morale-boosting 1-1 home draw with Senegal on Friday night, Ireland will face Luc Holtz’s men in the Grand Duchy, looking to bring their season to a successful conclusion.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding the game.
Last chane saloon
Hallgrimsson’s stated aim since he slipped into the Ireland hotseat was to prepare a team for the World Cup qualifying campaign which gets under way in September against Hungary.
The Luxembourg game represents his last chance to experiment – something he was also able to do against Senegal with most of his Sky Bet Championship players rested for this camp – before the serious business of accumulating points begins.
Remembering how to win
The Icelander’s first season at the helm has yielded modest, yet mildly-encouraging results.
Having suffered the misfortune of seeing his team drawn in the same Nations League group as relegated England and old foes Greece, their battle was realistically for second place at best and it took a play-off victory over Bulgaria to preserve their League B status.
The nine games the Republic have played under his charge have brought four wins – home and away against both Finland and the Bulgarians – and a draw; Ireland had won only 12 of their previous 44 in all competitions.
Chance to shine
Several members of the squad will hope Hallgrimsson is ready to ring the changes, with Everton defender Jake O’Brien, Celtic counterpart Liam Scales and Istanbul Buyuksehir wing-back Festy Ebosele, who were used as substitutes on Friday evening, and Andrew Omobamidele and Troy Parrott, who were not, principal among them.
Hell for Evan
Another who will be keeping his fingers crossed is Brighton striker Evan Ferguson.
The 20-year-old endured a miserable spell on loan at West Ham during the second half of last season, making only eight appearances – including just one start – and failing to find the back of the net, something he did for his country in a 2-1 victory over Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium in March.
Bad memories
The mere mention of Luxembourg sends a shiver down the spine of Ireland supporters. On March 27th, 2021, Holtz’s team, then ranked 98th in the world by FIFA, emerged from their trip to Dublin with a 1-0 World Cup qualifier win courtesy of Gerson Rodrigues’ goal, perhaps the low point of former boss Stephen Kenny’s reign.
The Republic, who were ranked 42nd at the time, gained their revenge in the return with a 3-0 victory at the Stade de Luxembourg, but that particular scar remains.