Today, on June 8 in Dublin, the Ukraine national team will play its opening match of the 2022/2023 Nations League against Ireland (kick-off at 9:45 PM). Here is our opponent.

Ireland

General Information

Confederation: UEFA. Governing body: Football Association of Ireland. As of March 2022, the Irish national team held the FIFA ranking 47th position. Home arena: Aviva Stadium (capacity 51,700). Highest achievement — reaching the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup and the round of 16 at Euro 2016. The team's first match in history was played on March 21, 1926 against Italy (0:3), their biggest victory came on November 16, 1983 over Malta (8:0), while the worst defeat occurred on May 27, 1982 against Brazil (0:9). The team has nicknames «Green Army» and «Boys in Green».

Squad

Goalkeepers: Mark Travers («Bournemouth», England), Kiveton Keelty («Liverpool», England), James Talbot («Bohemians»).

Defenders: Shay Logan Coleman («Everton», England), Cyrus Christie («Fulham», England), Enda Stevens, John Egan (both — «Sheffield United», England), Ryan Manning («Swansea City», England), Shane Duffy («Brighton», England), Nathan Collins («Burnley», England), Dara O'Shea («West Bromwich Albion», England), James McClean («Wigan Athletic», England).

Midfielders: Conor Hourihane («Aston Villa», England), Josh Cullen («Anderlecht», Belgium), Jeff Hendrick («Newcastle United», England), Alan Browne («Preston North End», England), Jason Mooney («West Bromwich Albion», England), Jason Knight («Derby County», England).

Forwards: Callum Robinson («West Bromwich Albion», England), Troy Parrott («Tottenham Hotspur», England), Scott Hogan («Birmingham City», England), Will Keane («Wigan Athletic», England), Chiedozie Ogbene («Rotherham United», England), Michael Obafemi («Swansea City», England), Christopher Hamilton («Blackpool», England), Festy Ebosele («Derby County», England).

The average age of the team is 26.2 years. The oldest player is defender Shay Logan Coleman from Everton, who is 33 years and 7 months old, while the youngest is forward Troy Parrott from Tottenham (20 years and 4 months).

Head Coach

The Ireland national team is coached by 50-year-old specialist Stephen Kenny, who replaced Mick McCarthy in April 2020.

Prior to this appointment, Kenny worked with the Irish youth squad. His coaching career also includes stints at Irish clubs «Longford Town», «Bohemians», «Derry City», «Shamrock Rovers», and «Dundalk», as well as Scottish club «Dunfermline».

Under his leadership, the «Boys in Green» have played 23 matches: winning five, drawing ten and losing eight. Stephen Kenny is a very balanced coach but also favors fast attacking football. He takes care to ensure that the team has the right balance of creativity, physical attributes, and speed. In his tactics, Stephen Kenny follows the 4-3-3 formation.

Leader

The leader of the Irish national team can be considered Callum Robinson from «West Bromwich Albion», who is currently the best forward in the squad.

27-year-old striker has been playing for the «Green Army» since September 2018. During this time, he played 27 matches and scored seven goals. 

Robinson started his career at «Aston Villa», from where he went on loan to «Preston North End» (39 matches, 6 goals) and «Bristol City» (6 matches). After that, he settled in «Preston North End», where he played for three seasons (110 matches, 29 goals). Then Robinson moved to «Sheffield United» (17 matches, 1 goal) and finally joined his current club — «West Bromwich Albion» (71 matches, 12 goals).

Callum Robinson is a true utility player. He can play as a central striker or winger, as well as an attacking midfielder. The forward prefers to move into the center, work with long passes, and is known for his shots from distance and frequent headers on goal.