Stephen Kenny confident with Republic of Ireland’s solid base for bright future

Stephen Kenny is confident the foundation is in place for a brighter future for the Republic of Ireland despite seeing their disappointing Euro 2024 campaign fizzle out in the Netherlands.

Ireland knew before kick-off at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam that they would not be going to next summer’s finals after their feint hopes of snatching a play-off spot had finally been extinguished.

They had hoped to sign off with a famous win over Ronald Koeman’s men, but ultimately slipped to a 1-0 defeat which could and perhaps should have been significantly more substantial.

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However, asked if he remains convinced there is a firm base in place after three and a half years at the helm which have seen a major overhaul of the squad, a defiant Kenny said: “Yes, without doubt there is.

“What was the alternative? If you can tell me… Over the years, a lot of our players have moved down the divisions, so absolutely. These are the best players that Ireland have now.

“They’ve gone up against a world-class team there, one of the best teams in Europe. It’s a tough game when you come to Holland, for sure, there’s no doubt about that.

“The reason no Irish team in its history has beaten a team of Holland’s calibre away from home – and there’s been better teams than us, for sure, a lot of great teams – is because it’s really difficult, really, really difficult to beat a tier one nation like that away from home in a qualifier.”

The contest was settled by Wout Weghorst’s 12th-minute strike after he turned Nathan Collins on halfway before surging upfield to blast a shot past goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.

Kenny said: “Ryan Manning and Nathan collided and it opened up for Weghorst to go and score.