Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has urged his young hopefuls to learn from veteran James McClean after he announced his impending retirement from international football.

The 34-year-old Wrexham midfielder revealed his intention to end his time with Ireland after 102 caps, 11 goals and two European Championship campaigns following next month’s friendly against New Zealand on Thursday morning.

Hours later, international boss Kenny, who first managed the player as a youngster at Derry City, paid tribute to both his quality and intensity after naming a 24-man squad which did not include him for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ireland Football (@irelandfootball)

Kenny said: “He’s had a terrific career, James. Young Irish players can learn a lot from him, how he approached his career. Ireland was always at the forefront of his thoughts, it was always the pinnacle for him and it was always the most important thing, to play for his country. You had to respect that.

“From my point of view as a manager – obviously I managed him as a teenager, gave him his debut and then sold him to Sunderland. But people change in that period and obviously he’s a different personality then when I managed the Irish team (Derry) because he’s in his 30s by the time I take up the Ireland team, so he’s a different personality.

“But if there are any grey areas about who might play in the team sometimes and decisions are not made and depending on who’s available, he’s so forceful in his training performances, sometimes he gets himself in the team by just his sheer intensity in his training in the sessions.

“It’s hard to ignore him then, when someone trains like that, in the games.”

Derry-born former Sunderland, Wigan, West Brom and Stoke man McClean, who has repeatedly found himself at the centre of controversy over his decision not to wear a Remembrance Day poppy on his club shirt, had earlier spoken of his pride at representing his country over 11 years.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by James McClean (@macajw)

He said in a statement issued on social media: “It has the meant the absolute world and more to be able to pull on the green jersey with honour, step out onto a football pitch – especially at the Aviva Stadium – to represent our great country, standing singing Amhran na bhFiann ready to go out into battle with your fellow countrymen.

“Nothing has ever come close. I gave absolutely everything I had of myself to ensure that I did the jersey, the fans and the country proud, and know that I never took it for granted each time. I hope that showed.

“It will be heartbreaking not to be involved beyond this year, but I feel now is the right time to step aside without any regrets.

“I lived my own and every young Irish footballer’s dream – and represented this country with pride.”

McClean’s absence from the squad was not the only one of note, with Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher also missing after suffering a gash to his knee in training which required 12 stitches, while Sheffield United defender John Egan and Cardiff winger Callum O’Dowda are also unavailable because of injury.

However, Celtic winger Mikey Johnston and Cardiff forward Callum Robinson were included for the games against Greece in Dublin on Friday, October 13 and Gibraltar in Faro three days later.

Ireland’s hopes of qualification are all but over after Group B defeats by France and the Netherlands last month left them with just three points from a possible 15.

Squad: Gavin Bazunu (Southampton), Mark Travers (Stoke, on loan from Bournemouth), Max O’Leary (Bristol City), Matt Doherty (Wolves), Festy Ebosele (Udinese), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Shane Duffy (Norwich), Dara O’Shea (Burnley), Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), Liam Scales (Celtic), Ryan Manning (Southampton), Josh Cullen (Burnley), Jayson Molumby (West Brom), Alan Browne (Preston), Will Smallbone (Southampton), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Jamie McGrath (Aberdeen), Mark Sykes (Bristol City), Evan Ferguson (Brighton), Adam Idah (Norwich), Aaron Connolly (Hull), Chiedozie Ogbene (Luton), Callum Robinson (Cardiff), Mikey Johnston (Celtic).

The Republic of Ireland host Gibraltar on Monday evening knowing nothing but victory is acceptable after a disappointing start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.

Friday night’s 2-1 defeat in Greece left Ireland pointless in Group B after two fixtures and seriously dented their hopes of making it to the finals.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding a must-win game.

Kenny cornered?

Ireland boss Stephen Kenny once again finds himself at a crossroads three years into his reign. The 51-year-old’s 23 competitive matches in charge to date have yielded just four victories – against Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Scotland and Armenia – and a campaign towards which he has been building since replacing Mick McCarthy looks to have slipped from his grasp already. He has set great store by introducing youthful talent to his the squad and playing a progressive brand of football, but wins have largely eluded him and the Republic were dismantled by a slick Greece outfit ranked three places below them by FIFA.

The case for the defence

Successive Republic managers have built their teams on solid defensive foundations which made them difficult to beat. But they can no longer rely on the likes of Richard Dunne, John O’Shea and Shane Duffy and with Seamus Coleman injured and Dara O’Shea short of football, Kenny handed John Egan, Nathan Collins and Darragh Lenihan the task of keeping the Greeks out with support from wing-backs Matt Doherty and Callum O’Dowda. However, midfielder schemers Tasos Bakasetas and Giorgos Masouras combined with striker Vangelis Pavlidis provided a tough test. They will hope for a quieter evening against Gibraltar.

The middle ground

Burnley’s Josh Cullen has been hugely impressive in his country’s midfield engine room for much of his international career, while Kenny’s former Under-21s skipper Jayson Molumby has brought energy and bite to the midfield and Will Smallbone shone on his debut against Latvia in March. However, they were overrun at the OPAP Arena with Cullen and Molumby unable to provide the security for Smallbone to link with the frontmen. Kenny is likely to shuffle his pack on Monday evening in the search for greater invention, and that could mean roles for Jason Knight and Mikey Johnston.

Seventh heaven for McClean?

James McClean will become the seventh man after Robbie Keane, Shay Given, John O’Shea, Kevin Kilbane, Steve Staunton and Damien Duff, to win 100 caps for the Republic of Ireland and will wear the captain’s armband as a result. The 34-year-old igan midfielder made his debut as a substitute against the Czech Republic in February 2012 and is a veteran of the Euro 2012 and 2016 finals. He has contributed important goals along the way, in particular World Cup qualifier winners in both Austria and Wales.

Roaring forties

Gibraltar manager Jose Ribas has worked hard to bring a new generation of players through in his five years at the helm – 18-year-old midfielder Nicholas Pozo is a good example – but is still able to call upon vast experience. The team which started Friday night’s 3-0 home defeat by France included 40-year-old defender Roy Chipolina and 41-year-old striker Lee Casciaro.

Gibraltar defender Jayce Olivero will approach Monday night’s Euro 2024 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland as “a final” as the minnows look to add to Stephen Kenny’s misery.

The clash between the sides currently occupying the bottom two places in Group B at the Aviva Stadium could prove make or break for Kenny after Friday’s 2-1 defeat in Greece left his team pointless and with his critics once again on the offensive.

Gibraltar, who are ranked 201st by FIFA, have lost each of their three opening fixtures against the Greeks, the Netherlands and France 3-0 and while the odds may be heavily stacked against them in Dublin, Europa defender Olivero is relishing the task ahead.

He said: “The game for us is a final. Ireland are a great nation and a really, really big team, and they’ve always competed at the very top.

“This is what we want. We want to compete against the very best and we prepare with everything we have for every game we have, and that’s what we’re looking to do in our next game.

“We compete with everything we have and that’s the most important thing for us.”

Ireland were decidedly second-best in Athens as they followed up a 1-0 home defeat by France in their opening fixture – in which they produced a spirited display – with a tepid performance.

Asked if Gibraltar could capitalise on the fall-out from that game, manager Jose Ribas said: “It’s important that we focus on our game.

“Ireland are a great side regardless of their form at the moment. We’ve seen them playing against Greece, we’ve seen them playing against France and they’ve put in good performances.

“We respect them, they’re a great side.”

Ribas, who has been in charge since 2018, has assimilated a new generation of players into his squad, but has retained vast experience with defender Roy Chipolina, 40, and 41-year-old striker Lee Casciaro starting against France and 37-year-old Scott Wiseman, who enjoyed a 13-year career in English league football, coming off the bench.

Asked how important that experience to his team, the Uruguayan said: “It’s obviously very important.

“We’ve got 23 players – some who are unfortunately not with the squad now – some of whom have played right through from Under-17s level, and of course it’s very important to have these very experienced players who have been through a lot with Gibraltar.

“We’ve only been admitted to UEFA very recently and it’s great that these young players have that experience to help them. We believe with that, they will grow.”

Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe scored for France in their 3-0 victory over Gibraltar in European Championship qualifying.

Giroud netted after only three minutes but a penalty from Mbappe just before half-time was the only other chance that the World Cup finalists converted before a late own goal from Aymen Mouelhi as France maintained their 100 per cent record in Group B.

In Group C, Ukraine fought back from 2-0 down to beat North Macedonia 3-2 and claim their first victory.

Enis Bardhi put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot and Elif Elmas doubled their advantage before the break.

But Illya Zabarnyi and Yukhym Konoplya scored within five minutes of each other to draw Ukraine level and Visar Musliu was then shown a second yellow card for North Macedonia before Viktor Tsygankov grabbed the winner seven minutes from time.

There was also late drama in Group D, where Turkey won their second game with a 3-2 victory over Latvia.

After goals from Abdulkerim Bardakci and Cengiz Under for Turkey either side of Eduards Emsis’ strike, Latvia looked to have secured a point when Kristers Tobers scored deep into injury time.

But Turkey went down the other end and Irfan Can Kahveci netted the winner a minute later.

Four teams are on six points in Group H, with Finland and Kazakhstan joining Denmark and Slovenia.

Teemu Pukki set up goals for Joel Pohjanpalo and Oliver Antman in Finland’s 2-0 win over Slovenia, while Kazakhstan defeated San Marino 3-0.

Switzerland made it three wins from three with a 2-1 victory over Andorra in Group I.

Remo Freuler and Zeki Amdouni put the Swiss two up before half-time but Marcio Vieira pulled one back for Andorra in the 67th minute.

Two late goals helped Israel to a 2-1 victory over Belarus, their first win of the campaign.

Belarus looked to be heading for the three points through Max Ebong’s 16th-minute opener but Shonn Weissman equalised with a penalty five minutes from time and teenager Oscar Gloukh netted an injury-time winner.

Also in Group I, Kosovo secured their third draw, holding Romania to a goalless stalemate in Pristina.

Ronald Koeman acknowledged the Netherlands' "level has to go up" after their meagre 3-0 victory over Gibraltar in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Nathan Ake scored twice while Memphis Depay was also on target at De Kuip as Koeman claimed the first win of his second spell in charge, which began with a humbling 4-0 defeat against France three days earlier.

The Oranje's three goals came despite recording 50 shots and having 101 touches in the opposition box - more than they have managed in any other match since Opta began collecting this data in August 2013.

They also registered a remarkable 5.04 expected goals (xG), and Koeman was disappointed by his side's general lacking of a clinical edge.

"I didn't see enough goals tonight," he told NOS. "The opponent obviously didn't co-operate, but we were way too sloppy at times.

"From the beginning, we were inaccurate, and we didn't have the form to create big, good chances. Okay, there was a lot of blocking, but with more sharpness, we score much more often.

"The game and result against France was not good. Now we win, but that makes sense. But overall, it was far too little.

"Aspects such as positional play, ball circulation, taking the right positions - as a winger or defender - really needs to be improved. The football and level has to go up."

Ake's double was the undoubted highlight for the hosts, the defender recording more shot involvements than any other player (nine shots, seven chances created), with only Depay registering more in a single Netherlands match since Opta began collecting the data.

And the Manchester City man drew positives from the fact he and his team-mates were able to conjure as many opportunities as they did.

"Of course, the main aim was to win the match and, besides that, we wanted to score as many goals as possible. Obviously, that didn't work out," Ake added. 

"That we created so many chances was good, but maybe we should have been calmer in how we tried to convert them.

"It doesn't happen very often that I score twice in one game. But it was very crowded where our forwards were, so maybe that created a little more space for the rest of us. At some point, I was even considering the possibility of a hat-trick, but it wasn't to be."

Ronald Koeman claimed the first win of his second spell in charge of the Netherlands as the Oranje dispatched 10-man Gibraltar 3-0.

Nathan Ake scored twice in a game that saw the Netherlands have 50 attempts without allowing one at the other end, as Koeman's team got up and running in Euro 2024 qualifying following last week's heavy defeat to France.

Ake's second-half double came after Memphis Depay had put the Dutch ahead against the Group B minnows in Rotterdam on Monday.

It marked a 19th straight defeat in Euro qualifying for Gibraltar, who had Liam Walker sent off for a rash challenge on Dutch debutant Mats Wieffer.

In need of a response following their hammering in Paris, the Netherlands had control from the off, and the lead came in the 23rd minute.

Following a patient move, Denzel Dumfries – back from suspension – supplied an inviting cross that Depay glanced in.

Georginio Wijnaldum volleyed just over while Wout Weghorst twice went close – spurning a great chance when he shot wide from eight yards out before Dayle Coleing produced a smart reflex save to deny the Manchester United striker.

The Dutch doubled their lead five minutes after the break, Dumfries helping a deep cross back into the centre for Ake to head home.

Gibraltar were reduced to 10 men less than 60 seconds later. Walker caught Wieffer with a dangerous challenge, leaving referee Morten Krogh with little choice but to brandish a straight red.

Coleing denied Donyell Malen and Cody Gakpo while Roy Chipolina blocked Weghorst on the line, but Ake's deflected strike eight minutes from time added gloss to an easy victory.

Ronald Koeman is targeting "as many goals as possible" in Monday's Euro 2024 qualifier against minnows Gibraltar to get his side's heavy loss to France out of their system.

The Netherlands were thumped 4-0 by Les Bleus on Friday in their opening Group B match and the first game of Koeman's second spell in charge of the national side.

Oranje have a quick turnaround in games as they welcome Gibraltar – ranked 200th in the world – to De Kuip three days after such a crushing loss, and Koeman is hoping for a big victory.

"From the first minute until the 97th we must do everything to score as many goals as possible," he said at Sunday's pre-match press conference. "We have to keep going.

"We know Gibraltar will defend with a lot of men, but hopefully we can get a quick goal. Our attacking line-up will be very important."

Koeman opted for a 4-3-3 formation against France and, while not ruling out a switch to 5-3-2 against certain sides, he has faith in the current system.

"The France game was a one-off," he said. "I have no doubt for a second that we should have done things differently in the last game. It will get better; I am convinced of that.

"It will take time before we see what we want. This is what we have training sessions for."

The Netherlands' loss to France was only their second by a four-goal margin against any opponent in the past 60 years, the other also coming against Les Bleus in August 2017.

Defender Nathan Ake, who played a full part at the Stade de France, revealed he and his team-mates spoke openly about the defeat after the match.

"We discussed what needs to be improved," he said. "We had to reflect and you also have to speak plain language and just tell each other the truth.”

Koeman added: "This group is self-critical and a number of things were said. What we discussed mainly was our build-up play and the intensity of our play – it was too slow.

"That was the biggest disappointment, particularly as we worked on it in training."

Memphis Depay scored twice and had a penalty saved as the Netherlands maintained their hold on World Cup qualifying Group G with a comfortable 6-0 win over Gibraltar.

Virgil van Dijk's early header got the ball rolling, with Depay responding to Bradley Banda saving his spot-kick by finishing off a neat team move and scoring a second penalty as the Oranje went in at half-time with a commanding lead.

Denzel Dumfries wasted no time in adding to the scoreline in the second half, before substitutes Arnaut Danjuma and Donny Malen completed the scoring to condemn Gibraltar to an eighth defeat from eight.

The Netherlands can ill afford to slip up, with Norway two points behind them, but that was never likely here as Van Dijk opened the scoring inside nine minutes, losing his marker with ease and nodding Depay's corner in at the near post.

Stefan de Vrij's header was blocked in the box by the arm of Graeme Torrilla, with a penalty awarded following a VAR review, yet Depay's spot-kick was at a nice height for Banda to make a convincing save.

The Gibraltar goalkeeper could do little two minutes later, however, as Noa Lang's superb pass carved the visiting defence open and Davy Klaassen squared for Depay to tap in.

Banda made fine saves from Georginio Wijnaldum and De Vrij, but another handball – this time Julian Valarino blocking Steven Berghuis' right-wing cross – gave Depay a second opportunity from the spot he would not pass up.

Dumfries made it 4-0 shortly after the restart, finding himself in the centre of the box to head in Lang's left-wing cross, and a lull in the scoring was brought to an end 15 minutes from time when Wout Weghorst flicked on to Danjuma, who steered the ball into the bottom-left corner on the stretch.

Weghorst thought he had got his name on the scoresheet when he nodded over Banda but Roy Chipolina hacked off the line, with the sixth instead belonging to Malen after slick interplay involving Depay.

Frank de Boer hit out at Gibraltar for perceived histrionics that he felt amounted to "anti-football" during Netherlands' 7-0 win on Tuesday.

The Oranje crushed their hosts in World Cup qualifying Group G, scoring six times in the second half as the Dutch took full advantage of their superiority – Gibraltar did not have a single shot.

Steven Berghuis, Luuk de Jong, Georginio Wijnaldum, Donyell Malen, Donny van de Beek and a Memphis Depay brace did the damage for the away side, who were challenged by De Boer to net at least five.

The former Ajax boss had been frustrated by his team's profligacy in the 2-0 win over Latvia at the weekend and made the curious decision to publicly set a goals target.

While he was largely pleased with the manner of the win, he took aim at Gibraltar for their conduct during the match.

"I am very satisfied with the seven goals, but it is really almost anti-football," he told NOS.

"All the players going down after a single touch, while every time the whole bench went crazy, complaining to the referee.

"The goalkeeper was taking a minute for a goal-kick… I got tired of it. I'm glad the game is behind us."

It was then relayed to De Boer that Latvia had held Turkey to a 3-3 draw in Istanbul, to which he replied with a hint of smugness following the criticism that came the Netherlands' away after Saturday's performance.

"We did well against Latvia then," he said with a wink.

But it was not all rosy for the Oranje, as they lost Daley Blind to injury early in the second half, the Ajax centre-back falling awkwardly as he bailed out Matthijs de Ligt and collided with Tjay de Barr.

While De Boer did allay fears of a nasty knee injury, as it initially appeared, it remains unclear how severe the issue is.

"I don't know how serious it is, but it wasn't his knee. He fell on his ankle," De Boer said.

Asked if Blind had gone to hospital, the coach added: "No, he's here, lying on the massage table. We wait and see – if it is serious, it will throw a dark cloud over this evening."

Victory moved Netherlands up to second in the group with six points from three games, one point adrift of leaders Turkey, who beat the Oranje 4-2 last week.

Netherlands had little difficulty seeing off Gibraltar in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier as their crushing 7-0 victory saw them meet coach Frank de Boer's pre-match expectations.

The Oranje were subject to criticism despite beating Latvia 2-0 in Saturday's meeting, with De Boer demanding a more clinical performance in Gibraltar, and that was exactly what he got.

Just as Latvia goalkeeper Roberts Ozols impressed at the weekend, Dayle Coleing proved a worthy adversary between the posts for Gibraltar until his goal was eventually breached just before half-time – Steven Berghuis netting in successive games for his country.

Luuk de Jong made it 2-0 with a well-taken finish early in the second half and the floodgates opened, with Memphis Depay, Georginio Wijnaldum and Donyell Malen all scoring in the following nine minutes.

Although a lull followed, Donny van de Beek and Depay added further gloss late on as the Dutch strolled to victory.

Unsurprisingly the Oranje were in control right from the start but their attempts to make an early breakthrough were unsuccessful as Coleing rose to the occasion.

The Gibraltar goalkeeper then watched gratefully as Denzel Dumfries headed wide in the 25th minute, before scooping away Davy Klaassen's close-range effort in unorthodox fashion as the hosts looked set to hold out until the break.

But Netherlands finally found a way through a minute later, Berghuis producing an emphatic finish into the top-left corner after the ball broke kindly for him in the crowded penalty area.

De Boer lost Daley Blind to injury early in the second half, though it had little impact on the dominant visitors and De Jong made it 2-0 less than 60 seconds later, steering in from Berghuis' delivery.

Depay's free-kick took a wicked deflection en route to the bottom-right corner for the Dutch's third in the 61st minute, and that was soon followed by Wijnaldum slamming in from 10 yards after Coleing parried the Liverpool man's header straight back to him.

Malen, brought on for Blind, got in on the act with a simple finish from Klaassen's squared pass.

Although the tempo dropped significantly after their fifth goal, Netherlands did add the extras in the final 10 minutes – Van de Beek took advantage of a kind bounce before converting from close range, before Depay turned in Owen Wijndal's drilled cross.

Frank de Boer is demanding a high-scoring victory when the Netherlands face Gibraltar in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Having started their campaign with a 4-2 defeat to Turkey, the Oranje responded with a 2-0 win over Latvia on Saturday courtesy of goals from Steven Berghuis and Luuk de Jong.

Head coach De Boer was disappointed his side did not win by a greater margin, though, given they had 76.5 per cent of the possession and 36 shots, with Latvia goalkeeper Roberts Ozols making eight saves.

With Gibraltar having conceded seven goals in their opening two qualifying games against Norway and Montenegro, De Boer wants a more clinical performance from his players and insists loading his starting line-up with forwards is not necessarily the correct approach.

"More players up front doesn't necessarily make the job easier," he said on Monday. "The spaces might be even more tight that way.

"We want to try to bait the opponents to leave their defensive positions, so we can profit from the open spaces through quick combinations. I don't believe that more attackers equals more opportunities.

"Look, a 2-0 victory against Latvia isn't good, especially if you look at the way we played. We should have scored at least seven times, looking at the chances we had. The same goes against Gibraltar: if you create that many chances, you need to score that many times.

"It all depends on how sharp we are. Norway have beaten them 3-0; Gibraltar lost their most recent away match 4-1.

"We need to make sure the tempo stays high. We can't let them breathe. We need to score at least five times, but preferably more."

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong believes a resounding win could help to boost morale within the Netherlands squad as they look to build on a run of three wins in their previous four matches.

"It's always fun to be playing for your country," he said. "In these games, you can have fun too: if all goes well, you score a lot, you can make some nice combinations.

"I think it could give us a good feeling."