Tonight, Ireland visit an empty Wembley stadium for another chapter in the story between the two neighbours. Ireland find themselves facing Gareth Southgate’s side tonight following last month’s agonizing Euro play-off defeat to Slovakia. UEFA TV commitments and Ireland’s loss in Bratislava led to the fixture being announced last month. Ireland last played England in June 2015 where they played out a 0-0 draw in the Aviva, while their last Wembley clash was a 1-1 draw in May 2013.
If one purely focuses on results, Ireland come into tonight’s game in poor form. 3 losses (albeit 1 on penalties), 2 draws and 1 goal scored in 5 makes for grim reading, even for the most optimistic of supporters. However, football is not linear, and Stephen Kenny’s short tenure must be placed into context. In Kenny’s first 5 games Ireland registered 61 shots on goal, while they held the majority of possession and out-passed their opponents in 3 of the 5 games. These sorts of statistics were very rarely seen under previous regimes, where Ireland sat back, and periods of ambitious forward play were few and far between. While not exempt from criticism, Kenny and his team’s efforts should be applauded and supported, and one should disregard “fans” who are too stubborn or short-sighted to give Kenny a fair chance. Many forget that it took Mick McCarthy 8 games to register his first win in his first spell as Ireland boss.
This week, Kenny said that defensively “we only conceded four goalscoring chances over the last 3 games” while up front “we are creating chances and playing well, we’re just not taking them” It must also be said that Kenny was without many key players in October due to Covid. As he and his team attempt to move away from a decade-long footballing legacy of long balls and cautious approaches, the early statistics are very encouraging, as much as it hurts to lose out on the Euro’s next year. “Really, I’m looking for the team to develop, and we’ve taken on the England game because we don’t fear anyone.” Kenny explained this week.
Looking ahead to tonight, Ireland’s recent form vs England hasn't been the worst. We have seen 6 draws and Ray Houghton’s famous winner in Stuttgart since 1985, including Ireland’s historic 1-1 draw in their first ever World Cup game in 1990. James McCarthy & Seamus Coleman return to the squad after missing out last month through injury, while Ireland will be without David McGoldrick who retired from International football last week. “It wasn't really a shock to me; it was always his intention to retire at the end of the campaign. He’s a very popular member of the squad, but he has his reasons and I respect that”.
Familiar, but unwelcome news emerged yesterday when Callum Robinson was ruled out due to testing positive for Covid-19, while Aaron Connolly and Enda Stevens are both out injured. The absence of the trio is a set-back for Ireland, as Kenny explains, "they would feature prominently in our picture for the World Cup qualifiers, without a doubt” Jack Byrne will also miss the trip to Wembley, but will join the squad ahead of Wales on Sunday. Meanwhile, Cyrus Christie, James Collins, Sean Maguire and Ryan Manning have all been called up by Kenny. In England’s corner, Trent Alexander-Arnold & James Ward-Prowse are both out. England overcame Wales and Belgium before losing to Denmark in the last international break.
An important side note is that Ireland must pick up some results if they are to remain second seeds ahead of the World Cup qualification draw next month. Ireland currently lie bottom of pot 2, but Stephen Kenny told the press this week “I can’t get fixated on the minutiae of World Cup seeding points, we just have to focus on playing well against England, Wales and Bulgaria”. While supporters hope for further positive performances, there is no doubt that if we start hitting the target and pick up some results, being second seeds in next month's draw will be a huge boost, as Ireland attempt to qualify for their first World Cup in 20 years. After Wembley, Ireland face Wales on Sunday, before Bulgaria visit the Aviva next Wednesday. Tonight’s game is live on RTE 2 with kick-off at 8pm.