Spark of creativity lacking from Ireland's workmanlike midfield

Ireland did not necessarily lose the midfield battle when they played France in March, yet it was an error by one of that particular unit that cost Stephen Kenny's side the points, resulting in a losing start to this Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.

And things took a turn for the worse in the next qualifier, as the positives that came out of that moral victory against Didier Deschamps’ side, following a fine display at the Aviva, went up in smoke thanks to that dire display in Athens.

The France result was acceptable, and in all truth, expected, however, the race for automatic qualification deemed that maximum points were needed, and in all truth, expected against the fourth-ranked Greeks.

Josh Cullen has been the man that the manager built his team around since taking the reins of the national team three years ago, and it was the unfortunate Burnley man who made the fatal mistake against the French, and Benjamin Pavard made sure that he would not forget it in a hurry.

"A moment like that doesn't need too much analysing. You made a mistake and for a few days after it, you take it on the chin and move on from it," said Cullen, speaking at a press conference earlier this week.

"It's something that hurt – no doubt about it – but it’s something I tried to move on from as quickly as I could. It’s out of my head now and I’m looking forward to the game on Thursday."

Another player may have been scapegoated for such an error on the edge of the box, heading into the next qualifier, but had Kenny canned Cullen, it would have been a case of going right back to the drawing board for the remainder of the campaign.

More notably, perhaps, is the lack of competition for Cullen's place in the team, and looking at the options available in the