John O’Shea will not allow the emotion of his journey from Under-15s player to Republic of Ireland manager to distract him as he prepares to guide his country into friendly battle with Belgium.
The 42-year-old former defender won 118 senior caps for Ireland during a distinguished playing career which brought him five Premier League titles, an FA Cup, three League Cups and a Champions League in his 12-year spell at Manchester United.
Having been placed in temporary charge of the national team as the Football Association of Ireland prepares to unveil Stephen Kenny’s successor early next month, O’Shea, who grew up as a footballer under the watchful eye of Sir Alex Ferguson, will head into Saturday’s clash with the Belgians concentrating only on the 90 minutes in front of him.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he said: “It’s an incredible honour to be manager of your country, to get the chance to represent Ireland from U-15 onwards and all the levels, captain your country.
“The chance to be involved coaching with the Under-21s and the senior team and now being manager, it’s amazing, one that myself and my family are really proud of.
“When you first get the players together and chatting to them the first time as well, that’s the key part and sets the tone for the week ahead. That’s where I just kept it in my head very simple in terms of the staff that I brought in.
“I will be able to touch into those connections afterwards, as well in terms of the learnings from the two games and how you progress.
“That will be a big thing, too, but ultimately, I just want to focus on the staff, myself and the players and not be worried about too much outside noise.”
O’Shea, who worked with the senior team under Kenny after stepping up from the Under-21 ranks and will serve as head coach for Saturday’s game and Tuesday’s friendly against Switzerland, plans to inform the players of his team selection on Friday, and then take a low-key approach ahead of kick-off.
He said: “I’ve worked under many managers that have played at different levels, and it’s just a case of you’re trying to get a connection as soon as you can with the players to make them feel relaxed because, ultimately – as I’ve stressed before – they’re the key to everything.
“They’re the key to performing to winning matches and you just have to try and get that connection with the group. And whatever team is selected, they’re backing each other up no matter what.”
O’Shea could hand senior debuts to in-form Blackburn forward Sammie Szmodics, Lyon defender Jake O’Brien and Middlesbrough midfielder Finn Azaz, while Southampton defender Ryan Manning has joined up with the squad after recovering from injury.
He said: “The good thing is there are good players in form and it’s a nice problem to have in a good few positions.”
Belgium, who are ranked fourth in the world by FIFA, will be without injured superstars Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku as they defend an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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