John O’Shea’s Republic of Ireland will attempt to build upon a creditable draw with Belgium when they welcome Switzerland to the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday evening.
O’Shea, placed in interim charge for two games as the Football Association of Ireland prepares to unveil Stephen Kenny’s successor, presided over a 0-0 draw with the Belgians on Saturday as striker Evan Ferguson saw a first-half penalty saved.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding the game.
Making a case?The process of identifying Kenny’s successor, which has so far extended beyond the four-month mark, is due to draw to a conclusion in April with FAI director of football Marc Canham having indicated an announcement has been delayed by “existing contractual obligations”. Leading candidate Lee Carsley has ruled himself out, sparking fresh speculation over the successful candidate. In the meantime, O’Shea did his blossoming reputation little harm against Belgium by assembling a team which combined defensive solidity with sporadic, but genuine threat to underline his prospects as an international coach.
Swiss role for Jake?O’Shea’s approach to limiting Belgium’s chances was to employ three central defenders with Dara O’Shea, 25, 22-year-old Nathan Collins and Andrew Omobamidele, 21, asked to form a central trio which performed well. However, Lyon’s Jake O’Brien caught the eye in training in the build-up to the game and it would be no surprise if the 22-year-old was handed a first senior cap following an impressive run of form in Ligue 1.
The kids are all rightIf O’Shea in part turned to experience in his first game at the helm, restoring 35-year-old Seamus Coleman and Robbie Brady, 32, to the starting line-up, he also had one eye on the Under-21s when he named his squad. Wolves’ Joe Hodge, currently on loan at QPR, and fellow midfielder Andy Moran, on loan at Blackburn from Brighton, played in Friday night’s 7-0 European Under-21 Championship qualifier victory in San Marino, but joined the senior squad on their return and will hope for senior debuts.
Evan and hellEvan Ferguson reported for international duty without a goal in 20 games for club Brighton, and the perfect chance to end his barren spell went begging when he slipped as he attempted to convert a penalty and saw Belgium keeper Matz Sels save with his legs. The 19-year-old has enjoyed a swift rise to prominence and his current difficulties are likely to prove temporary.
Night to forgetIreland’s last meeting with Switzerland proved to be one of those nights. Mick McCarthy’s men arrived in Geneva in October 2019 knowing victory would secure a place at the Euro 2020 finals, but left on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline after a red card for Coleman and Shane Duffy’s late own goal on an evening when keeper Darren Randolph saved a penalty and teenager Aaron Connolly made his first senior start, condemning them to a comprehensive defeat.
Al-Nassr 5-1 Al-Ain: Ronaldo on target in AFC Champions League win
Cristiano Ronaldo powered Al-Nassr to a convincing 5-1 triumph over Asian Champions League Elite holders Al-Ain on Tuesday.
The victory carried a sense of redemption for Al-Nassr as they avenged last season's semi-final defeat to the same opposition on their way to lifting a second title in the competition.
Talisca fired the hosts into a fifth minute lead with a well-taken effort from the edge of the box before Ronaldo poked home his 908th career goal just after the half-hour mark.
Visiting defender Fabio Cardoso then deflected Angelo's effort beyond Khalid Eisa to hand Al-Nassr a comfortable advantage at the interval.
Al-Ain did, however, pull one back early in the second half when Park Yong-woo's strike struck the post and went in off the back of Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento.
But the result was put beyond doubt late on when Wesley curled home Al-Nassr's fourth, before Talisca notched his brace in second half stoppage time.
Data Debrief: Return of Ronaldo
After winning five Champions League across his glittering career, Ronaldo is now eyeing a first AFC Champions League crown with Al-Nassr.
The 39-year-old has six goals in eight appearances in the competition, with his goal against Al-Ain ending a three-game goal drought for Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo also registered a team-high expected goals (xG) tally of 1.25 towards Al-Nassr's 2.67 total, while also producing more shots (eight) and touches in the opposition box (nine) than any other player on the pitch.
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.
"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.
"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.
"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."
The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.
Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.
Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.
"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.
"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.
"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."
Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.
The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.
After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.
"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.
"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.
"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.
"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."
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