RTÉ soccer panel: Where is this team heading?

The RTÉ soccer panel reflected on the 2-0 defeat to World Cup finalists France by questioning what direction the Republic of Ireland is heading in under Stephen Kenny.

Faint hopes of Euro 2024 qualification took another significant dent as, not unexpectedly, Les Blues outclassed the visitors in Paris with a comfortable win on a night where they spurned a host of opportunities to put a better gloss on the scoreline.

While an unlikely win over Netherlands on Sunday would propel the Boys in Green back into contention, the evidence thus far in Group B would suggest that is a very tall order.

With Kenny's third campaign in charge likely to end with qualification hopes extinguished early once again, speculation will intensify over his future at the helm.

We need your consent to load this YouTube content We use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences

Speaking after the defeat in Paris, Richie Sadlier said Kenny’s competitive record since taking over – five wins in 25 games – does little to push his cause for another contract.

"We’re here to qualify for a tournament," he said. "We’re not here to praise players for working hard.

"We’re not here to praise that we created a chance in the second half where the opposition created probably seven chances and completely dominated us.

"France are a better team, we were always going to lose, but the bigger picture here I think that we need to sit back and start focusing on is, where is this team going? Where are we heading?"

Sadlier added that the argument that Ireland were always huge underdogs to qualify given the strength the two top sides in