Martin O’Neill admitted yesterday at his pre-match press conference that Seamus Coleman’s injury on Friday night had taken its toll on the squad over the past few days. The Donegal man is loved by the players so his presence has been sorely missed in the lead up to tonight’s friendly with Iceland. However O’Neill and co have to try and move on and get ready to test themselves against the side ranked 23rd in the world.
The Ireland manager will make plenty of changes so tonight is all about the fringe players trying to impress. It’s one of three friendly matches for the Boys in Green before Austria come to Dublin for a World Cup qualifier on June 11. Robbie Brady will captain the side and he’s somebody who has benefited from impressing in a friendly. The Burnley midfielder caught the eye in Ireland’s win over the USA in 2014 and he’s been a regular since. Twelve months ago Shane Duffy started against Switzerland and O’Neill had another look at the Brighton defender against the Netherlands in May before deciding to include him in his Euro 2016 squad.
Any players given a chance tonight should take encouragement from that. I thought on Friday night we looked solid and well organised but we never really looked like creating anything in the final third until Wales were reduced to 10 men. Aiden McGeady was lively when he came off the bench so I expect to see him in from the start tonight. The uncapped quartet of Daryl Horgan, Andy Boyle, Conor Hourihane and John Egan could all get their first taste of international football at senior level. Horgan has settled in nicely at Preston since his move from Dundalk and I think a lot of Irish fans would like to see what he can do at international level. Hourihane also moved clubs in January and like Horgan, the Aston Villa midfielder has the ability to create chances. Without Wes Hoolahan and Robbie Brady on Friday there was no spark in attack until the final 20 minutes.
Cyrus Christie, who replaced Seamus Coleman on Friday, is the obvious choice to play right back from now until the end of the qualifying campaign. The Derby defender scored in the last campaign away to Gibraltar and he also started in the famous 1-0 win over Germany. Christie has a hard act to follow between now and October but it’s important to have more back up in that position. David Meyler started on the right side of the defence away to Germany in 2014. The Hull midfielder put in a very good performance in Gelsenkirchen and he’s also played in that position for his club this season, most notably in a scoreless draw away to Manchester United.
Christie could be part of a back four tonight that includes his Derby County teammates Alex Pearce and Richard Keogh although O’Neill did suggest he wouldn’t start most of Friday’s starting 11. The Ireland manager may not have a choice in some cases but he could also opt for Boyle or Egan from the start. Eunan O’Kane, Conor Hourihane and Stephen Gleeson are all options in central midfield. Callum O’Dowda made his competitive debut off the bench in Moldova so that would suggest he’s ahead of the likes of Horgan and Jonny Hayes in the pecking order. Kevin Doyle is the only striker who didn’t feature on Friday and Keiren Westwood is set to replace Darren Randolph in goal.
While we were busy having a ball in France last summer, Iceland also had an unforgettable Euro 2016. Not only did they draw 1-1 with eventual winners Portugal, Iceland beat England 2-1 to advance to the quarter finals of the tournament before a 5-2 defeat to hosts France in the last eight. Iceland missed out on a place at the 2014 World Cup with a playoff defeat to Croatia over two legs. They qualified for Euro 2016 as runners up in a group that included Czech Republic, Turkey and the Netherlands. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side are coming off the back of a 2-1 win over Kosevo on Friday night, a result that left them second in their qualifying group behind Croatia. The last time the two countries met was in September 1997 when Ireland won 4-2 in Reykjavik in a World Cup qualifier thanks to two goals from Roy Keane and one each from David Connolly and Mark Kennedy.
Republic of Ireland v Iceland – 7.45 kick off at Aviva Stadium.
