Rep Ire 0 – 1 Luxembourg

The Republic of Ireland’s World Cup ambitions already appear to be in deep doubt as Stephen Kenny’s side fell in a surprising 1-0 home loss to Luxembourg.

The hosts couldn’t find a breakthrough against their Group A opponents at Aviva Stadium.

As Ireland rushed forward in search of a winner, they were surprised by a goal from Gerson Rodrigues in the 85th minute, after a long ball landed on the Dynamo Kyiv midfielder. He fired a low shot into the bottom corner from outside the area to seal the victory.

The result leaves Ireland without points after two games in the World Cup qualifying round.

Ireland hit with late punch

With Gavin Bazunu making his senior international debut in Ireland’s goal, the visitors sought to put the 19-year-old to the test early on, as Vincent Thill shot from outside the area, matching Rochdale’s block.

Indeed, the teenager looked serene throughout his debut, with an accurate and safe cast in the air.

Luxembourg held firm in the initial exchanges and settled faster than their hosts.

However, Kenny’s team came to life in the 18th minute, as an excellent team play led Enda Stevens to free Callum Robinson down the left wing. The West Brom forward hit an alluring low cross that found James Collins. But the forward could not beat Anthony Moris in the Luxembourg goal.

That was the closest the two teams got in the first half. Although Robinson seemed a constant threat on the left, Ireland could not make any more significant advances.

Luxembourg came close to taking the lead in the 41st minute, when Rodrigues spotted Bazunu off his line. However, the goalkeeper rushed back to deflect what looked like a well-executed balloon.

Ireland started the second half brilliantly. Substitute Robbie Brady made an immediate impact, prowling the left wing in seconds. However, his cut was intercepted by the Luxembourg defense. Robinson then fired a speculative shot from outside the area, but it was too high.

Olivier Thill tried to catch Bazunu off guard on a free kick, but the young keeper had his goal blocked as he watched the meek shot fly wide.

Alan Browne then had a golden opportunity to score in the 55th minute as he found himself unmarked under Brady’s delivery of a free throw. However, he was unable to direct his attempt towards the target.

Bazunu was called into action by Vincent Thill once again, but Ireland were doing most of the attack after the break.

Kenny encouraged his team to keep going, replacing Ciaran Clark with James McClean. The opportunities kept coming and going. Collins attempted a spectacular kick from above in the 70th minute, but his acrobatic effort went wide.

Shane Long, off the bench, was the next Irishman to score a goal. But the experienced forward was unable to generate enough power from his header to upset Moris.

The Republic of Ireland continued to snoop, but there was no breakthrough.

As the hosts advanced, a long ball landed on Rodrigues, whose excellent low shot from outside the box found his way into the bottom corner.

It was a fatal blow that shook the locals and, despite a late bombardment of Luxembourg’s goal, Ireland could not find an equalizer.

Analysis: there has to be an inquisition

Former Republic of Ireland defender Phil Babb told Sky Sports:

“It feels raw, but the more you look at it, it’s not unexpected. The team has been struggling. Yes, we are trying to create a new style of play for Irish football, and they glimpse when it’s nice and they” You’re playing through. of the thirds.

“But when they get to that last third, there is no creative spark whatsoever and that worries me. We couldn’t repeat the good patterns of play. We had one or two tries and the rest were half chances, which is just not good.” quite a bit against that kind of opposition.

“There has to be an inquisition, to be honest. I was never happy with the way Stephen Kenny’s appointment was announced. Mick McCarthy had a qualifying campaign for the European Championship and yet his successor was already known within. two-year-old. That didn’t sit well with me. There’s been a clamor for being cool and for the team to play fluid soccer, but you need players who have confidence to do it.

“We’ve seen Ireland try it, and it just isn’t working. We don’t have the players to drop deep, on the turn, to test killer passes. Confidence is running out. Players seemed eager.” I would say to a certain extent yes [you write off Qatar 2022]. Now it will be extremely difficult to classify. I think now you have to look towards 2024. “

What Stephen Kenny said …

Head of the Republic of Ireland Stephen Kenny told Sky Sports: “I am not surprised, but I am very disappointed. It is not acceptable to lose the way we did. After playing so well against Serbia, we come here at home, and it is a match that we are capable of winning.” so it is very disappointing.

“We know that Luxembourg has improved enormously. We had watched their matches against Ukraine and Serbia, and they put pressure on both teams very closely. Therefore, we do not underestimate Luxembourg.

“Anything I say would be considered an excuse. We have a lot of players who don’t play. A second game in three days was too much for them in terms of physical fitness for some. We made some changes, but it’s just not good enough from our point of view. from my point of view as a coach and as players. We can’t be happy with that. It’s very disappointing to lose at home, and we just have to dust ourselves off. It’s not good enough.

“Certainly Luxembourg held back a lot of what we did. But we had four or five good chances and we showed a lack of composure in our completion. But we should be creating more opportunities than we did to be honest.”

Man of the match: Gerson Rodrigues

The Dynamo Kyiv midfielder came up with the big moment late in the game to seal a famous victory for Luxembourg. But he was a constant threat throughout the game, with his first-half balloon attempt forcing Gavin Bazunu to make an impressive save.

A physical presence for visitors throughout the event.

Whats Next?

Both teams are in action again Tuesday night. Ireland travels to Debrecen, Hungary, to face World Cup hosts Qatar in a friendly. Meanwhile, Luxembourg will host Portugal, one of Group A’s top favorites.