Keith Treacy: Ireland 'sleepwalking' into Euro 2024 qualifers

Former Republic of Ireland midfielder Keith Treacy fears the Boys in Green are "sleepwalking" into the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign after a mixed UEFA Nations League campaign.

Stephen Kenny's side came into the 2022-23 competition on a wave of optimism off the back of an encouraging end to the last World Cup qualifying group.

But that was immediately punctured by an unexpected 1-0 loss in Armenia and the sum total of the Nations League group has been seven points from a possible 18, bookended by a 3-2 home win over the Armenians on Tuesday which saw the Irish side give up a two-goal lead in the space of as many minutes before Robbie Brady's late penalty.

Ireland will face friendlies against Norway and Malta in November. But before that on 9 October, they will discover their group opponents for the next European Championship qualifiers which are due to begin in March.

As a Pot 3 team, a tough task awaits and based on the inconsistent trajectory during the June and September windows, on this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast Treacy outlined concerns about lofty ambitions in qualifying for the next major tournament .

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"This is a (Nations League) group that Stephen Kenny said himself he fancied winning. Now, I was never on board with that thinking but if you're going to say those things openly to the media, then you've got to back it up somehow. We ended up in a relegation battle with a very, very poor Armenia team," he said.

"This was a real yardstick for me. The teams we struggle against are the