Stephen Kenny hopes to exorcise ghost of Cristiano Ronaldo

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny will hope to finally exorcise the ghost of Cristiano Ronaldo as he targets a priceless Euro 2024 qualifier victory in Greece.

Kenny will send his troops into Group B battle at the OPAP Arena on Friday evening desperate to open their account at the second time of asking after they lost 1-0 to France in Dublin in their opener.

He will do so still reflecting on the famous World Cup qualifier win over Portugal which was snatched from his grasp by Ronaldo’s late double in September 2021, and game in which Ireland led through John Egan’s header with just a minute of normal time left on the clock.

Asked if he was encouraged by the fact that some of his team’s better performances had come away from home, Kenny replied: “You can’t look back.

“Of course we have analysed all the performances and the obvious one is the game in Portugal, of course, which we lost late.

“We have learned so much about the team over the last year and you can see the team improving, but this is a stern test.

“Greece are a really good team, they are at home, and it will be a brilliant atmosphere, I’m sure, and it is one that we want the players to rise to and put in a big performance.”

Kenny and his players arrived in Athens after using a nine-day training camp on Antalya, Turkey to acclimatise to the heat and humidity they expect to face at the home of AEK Athens.

Greece boss Gus Poyet has billed the game as must-win for both nations with the Netherlands as well as France – minnows Gibraltar complete the group – also vying for qualification, but Kenny is taking a more pragmatic view.

He said: “We are looking for that historic away win, that’s our objective, that’s what we want.

“Greece have a very good home record,