JR has been in touch, he asks: “Do you know where Connolly is lining up? Please don’t tell me on the right. I may not know what the hell I’m talking about. Nevertheless I don’t think he should play on the right.
“Also, though I appreciate some of James McClean’s attributes and past performances I think I’ve seen about enough of him. Also also, Why isn’t Doherty starting? I’d try to find a way to get him in there.
“Expecting defeat but COYBIG and all that anyway.”
I get the feeling Connolly will be on the right. McClean was pretty awful against Georgia it has to be said and I assume Doherty is out to provide a better balance to the side, but who knows?
There’s been heavy rain in Geneva and the pitch had to pass an inspection for the game to go ahead, which is slightly worrying. The downpour has stopped and standing water removed.
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I am informed that Mick McCarthy is a frequent visitor to the Cote Brasserie in Blackheath. If his side get a win tonight surely he is going to be in this week to treat himself to the Prestige Menu.
Finland have just beaten Armenia 3-0, including two almost identical dinks over the ‘keeper from Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki. The win takes Finland one step closer to qualification. They now sit second in the group on 15 points.
Needless to say, last night was a pretty depressing one for football. Hopefully those scenes will not be repeated. Here is the latest from the fallout, following Bulgaria v England game.
Starting lineups: Switzerland v Republic of Ireland
Switzerland: Sommer, Lichtsteiner, Elvedi, Akanji, Embolo, Seferovic, Xhaka, Rodriguez, Zakaria, Mehmedi, Schar.
Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Coleman, Duffy, Egan, Stevens, Whelan, Hendrick, Browne, McClean, Connolly, Collins
Starting lineups: Romania v Norway
Romania: Tărărușanu, Benzar, Rus, Nedelcearu, Bancu, Mitriță, Anton, Marin, Stanciu, Deac, Pușcaș
Norway: Jarstein, Alesaami, Ajer, Hovland, Elabdellaoui, Selnaes, Henriksen, Berge, Johansen, Odegaard, King
Starting lineups: Sweden v Spain
Sweden: Olsen, Lustig, Granqvist, Lindelöf, Bengtsson, Larsson, Olsson, Ekdal, Forsberg, Berg, Quaison.
Spain: De Gea, Carvajal, Albiol, Íñigo Martínez, Bernat, Ceballos, Thiago Alcántara, Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Oyarzabal, Gerard Moreno
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Good evening!
The key thing this evening is that Switzerland v Republic of Ireland is somehow watchable, as the weekend’s visit to Georgia was utterly dreadful. Starting Aaron Connolly seems to be Mick McCarthy’s only hope as he brought some life to the general woefulness in Tbilisi. Not to mention the fact that a win or a draw for Big Mick’s men would maintain or extend their gap to Switzerland in third as they battle for a place at next summer’s Euros.
“He’s come into the squad, he’s had his cameo at the end, and then of course the question is, could I have played him more?” said McCarthy before the match. “Well, I could have started him and he might not have played very well from the start in a rough and tumble game. He might have scored from the start, all those scenarios.
“But had he started and not played well then that would have been, ‘well, he shouldn’t have had a debut’, usual stuff, which I know is coming.”
Elsewhere, the most intriguing fixture is Sweden against Spain. Admittedly, the Spanish are top of the group by five points, are yet to lose in qualification and only need a draw to confirm place for next summer’s tournament but a victory for the hosts could make things vaguely interesting.
If that doesn’t float your boat, then there’s always Faroe Islands v Malta.
Should be fun!
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