Nations League can replace World Cup void for Ireland

The traditional European club season came to a dramatic close on Saturday night amid chaotic scenes at the Stade de France where Real Madrid were, eventually, crowned champions of Europe.

Many of the players involved had accumulated over 60 games throughout the season, such is the price of success if you are a team like Liverpool, competing at the business end of four separate competitions.

Four days on and the international window is flung wide open as UEFA look to play catch-up with some left-over World Cup qualification play-offs, as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, before the latest instalment of the Nations League kicks in.

Four games in a ten-day period, it is no wonder many are complaining about the schedule and the effect it may have on players, including Northern Ireland manager Ian Baraclough.

"The demands put on the players nowadays, Jurgen Klopp described it as ridiculous," said Baraclough. "Now they're asked at the end of a long season to go into a Nations League campaign and play four games.

"It’s 12 months, all year round, and we’re just seeing more and more injuries. The ones we are seeing are fatigue injuries."

No such concerns for his southern counterpart Stephen Kenny, however, with most of the Republic squad idle these past few weeks since the Championship and League One concluded with just a handful of Premier League players finishing more recently, while Caoimhin Kelleher’s Champions League final duties ended up, as expected, as that of a spectator.

A World Cup year, traditionally, this upcoming week would have seen countries playing their final warm-up games and getting ready for the tournament to start, however, with the awarding of the event to Qatar, the FIFA showpiece has been moved to