Today's Nations League International opener sees an Icelandic national lead the Irish nation against an England side lead by an Irish national, as two teams look to start afresh on a new course to glory, writes John Roycroft 

The appointment of Heimir Hallgrímsson came out of the blue for most. And while Irish fans will hope he can recreate the type of success he had with Iceland, their patience will not be endless, writes John Roycroft

Circumstances have knocked some of the sheen off tonight's international friendly against Belgium. But there are still things to play for as John Roycroft explains.

If Stephen Kenny's time as Ireland manager ends after the next two games, John Roycroft thinks that it should be acknowledged that he has made advancement with this team. 

Chiedozie Ogbene's pace and skill is starting to pay dividends for Luton Town and the Republic of Ireland, writes John Roycroft 

John Roycroft lists some of the likely candidates to take over from Stephen Kenny in charge of the Republic of Ireland team.

The path to the Euro 2024 final looks pretty unfeasible, with how the side prepares for the future more important now, writes John Roycroft.

The writing is on the wall for Stephen Kenny's time as Irish manager, who despite offering an attractive alternative was eventually let down by results, writes John Roycroft. 

Ireland claimed a win against Gibraltar but it still showed that the team are a far way from the quality of former Irish squads. Made all the more transparent with the retiring of Liam Brady from his match analysis role on RTÉ, writes John Roycroft

The Republic of Ireland need positive results from the current set of fixtures. A task easier said than done with this current squad, according to John Roycroft.

The brilliance of the Irish team to qualify for their first World Cup was somewhat lost in the subsequent chant scandal. John Roycroft fears that this will just result in this happy and eloquent side losing their voice for fear of offence.

The brilliance of the Irish team to qualify for their first World Cup was somewhat lost in the subsequent chant scandal. John Roycroft fears that this will just result in this happy and eloquent side losing their voice for fear of offence.

Once again Ireland's performance looked better than results suggest. John Roycroft wonders if Irish boss Stephen Kenny can blend his playing ideology with a successful qualification campaign.

Ireland manager Stephen Kenny picked an extensive squad ahead of their Uefa Nations League campaign which John Roycroft fears may be more testing than we had earlier predicted

With talk that Euro 2028 will become a 32-team event, and Belfast struggling to get a stadium  complete in time, John Roycroft hopes that Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Cork will be included as a host city

Spending precious funds on another bid for an international sporting event seems ridiculous when one considers the state of our domestic leagues. But John Roycroft still would like to see Euro 2028 come to our shores.

Idah has shown his worth as part of a dynamic partnership with Norwich in recent weeks and John Roycroft thinks that Stephen Kenny might try a similar tactic with the Corkman in Ireland's set-up.

Senator, Shane Cassell said we may need to build another marquee stadium if we are to succeed in our 2030 t World Cup bid. But John Roycroft says we should refurbish what we have and create a legacy fund from any World Cup to develop our woeful League of Ireland infrastructure.  

Ireland's results are improving but they are still far from their best. However, John Roycroft believes Kenny and his players have made the most of favourable public opinion to secure his future at the helm

Stephen Kenny's unprecedented run of bad luck sees him still without a win after nine games. Despite promising signs in the game against Serbia, he now faces a must-win game against Luxembourg tomorrow evening if he hopes to stay on as Irish manager. 

Money would be better spent in other areas of Irish soccer but wouldn't we love to host a major event all the same...

THERE was a time that I thought Eoin Hand was the unluckiest manager in the history of soccer, certainly in the Irish game. That belief may need to be revised after events in the first weeks of Stephen Kenny's tenure.