On Saturday, the Republic of Ireland suffered what captain Seamus Coleman described as ‘an embarrassing’ 1-0 home defeat against Luxembourg in Group A of European qualifying for World Cup 2022.
The statement may have sounded slightly harsh on Ireland’s opponents, who claimed the win courtesy of an 85th-minute winner from Gelson Rodrigues.
The visitors deserved the win, but Coleman’s interview afterwards displayed his frustration at his team losing to a team that is 98th in the world’s ranking.
The defeat leaves Stephen Kenny’s team bottom of the group, behind both Luxembourg and Azerbaijan, the two lowest-ranked teams in the group. Kenny has yet to claim a win in his ten international games in charge and the defeat has led to calls for his dismissal.
The Republic’s habit of punching above their weight in international football has done Kenny no favours, as his team lacks any real quality.
He doesn’t seem to have the necessary managerial acumen to get the best out of what is admittedly a group of mediocre players. Previous Ireland bosses have had the knack though.
When you look through the squad, which has traditionally been pretty strong with a strong core of players operating in the English top-flight, there is a dearth of talent.
The likes of Coleman, Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick are still decent Premier League players, but beyond that, the majority of the squad operates in the English lower leagues or the equivalent.
Maybe with a different boss, they could produce better results, just as they did under previous boss Mick McCarthy. Ireland now seems to need a change of direction and a head coach who can come in and galvanise the current group of players.
Whether that will happen remains to be seen, but at the moment the Republic of Ireland’s national team is going nowhere fast.