Kenny admits Euro 2024 draw is as tough as it gets

Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny admits Ireland's Euro 2024 qualifying group is as difficult as it could possibly have been, but expects teams in a competitive Group B to take points off each other.

The path to the European Championships in Germany became an even greater challenge this morning when the Boys in Green were pitted alongside three former winners of the competition in Netherlands, France and Greece, with Gibraltar the lowest ranked side in the group.

With Les Bleus and England the strongest of the Pot 2 seeds and Greece one of the countries from Pot 4 that Kenny would have preferred to have avoided, there is little doubt that Ireland face an uphill task to qualify directly for Euro 2024.

Should Ireland fail to make the top two in the group, they will be hope for one of the three berths available following a series of play-off games in March 2024. That picture will only become clearer after the qualification groups are concluded.

"It’s as tough a draw as we could have got," Kenny told RTÉ Sport after learning of Ireland’s fate in Frankfurt.

"We have shown a capacity in the last year to get results against some big nations like Portugal, Serbia, Belgium and Scotland.

"We are continually looking to improve and it’s a big challenge, there’s no doubt about that, but we’re looking forward to the games."

That previous experience against better quality sides will hopefully stand to Ireland, who will need all that and more to make a serious impression in the group.

Kenny says the focus will be about getting their own house in order rather than the hand they have been dealt in the draw.

"The type of group it is, teams are going to take points off each other. Greece are strong as well. We’ve just got to get ourselves