Preview: Who will light the touch paper as Ireland look to shock Dutch?

Stephen Kenny has called for a high-octane atmosphere from a packed-out Aviva Stadium tonight to help inspire his side to victory against the Netherlands.

But who will light the touch paper? Where will that spark of creativity come from? The moment of magic? That bold burst forward? The 30-yard thunderbolt?

The Ireland fans will always get behind their team at Lansdowne Road, but to generate that white-hot atmosphere that the manager is calling for, it has to start on the pitch.

Kenny's three-year tenure has been lacking in such moments in the big games that determine qualification, which is why the 2022 World Cup attempt fell seriously short, and why this Euro 2024 campaign is in danger of being over long before the deciding games take place in November.

There have been moments; the two away goals in Serbia, John Egan’s header to take the lead in Portugal – both games ended in defeat – and then more recently, Michael Obafemi’s scorcher against the Scots, Nathan Collins’ fine individual effort away to Ukraine.

Yet it doesn’t even have to be a goal.

The manager must be fed up hearing of the historic encounter in 2001 during the World Cup qualification stages when Jason McAteer swooped in at the back post to help Ireland to a 1-0 victory over the Dutch.

But the catalyst for that particular victory came a lot earlier in the game, when Roy Keane famously went through Marc Overmars, taking ball then man, or vice versa, to really set the tone for that iconic victory.

The captain’s actions and subsequent performance inspired the entire team to raise their game that day, and the packed terraces of the old stadium to roar the team on to victory.

Kenny has said that his side must be brave in possession of the football tonight, and by