The first Republic of Ireland team under manager Stephen Kenny has been announced for their match against Bulgaria this evening.
After months of waiting since his new role was announced, fans will finally find out how the former Ireland U21 manager will be wanting to play.
Ireland team news
Tonight is the first of Ireland's UEFA Nations League matches which Ireland need if they hope to qualify for the European Championship.
Ireland will be familiar with Bulgaria, who they defeated them 3-1 in a preparation match for their Euro 2020 qualifiers a year ago.
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Doherty, McCarthy, Idah and Connolly all start for the Republic of Ireland. Séamus Coleman on the bench.
Randolph
Doherty, Duffy, Egan, Stevens
Hendrick, McCarthy, Hourihane
O’Dowda, Idah, Connolly— Nathan Murphy (@nathanmurf) September 3, 2020
Former Republic of Ireland striker Kevin Doyle told The Football Show why he feels Kenny's approach might reap benefits.
"I don't think that we are going to see a massive difference in the few days that he has had them. He is dead right in what he's saying - all theses player do this week-in, week-out with changes of managers, changes of formations.
"The way he is not playing is not radical, it is nothing massively different. It will be different to what we have seen with Ireland in the last few years, but it is nothing too difficult for them.
Kevin Doyle on Kenny
"What I like more so about Stephen is the way he is subtly talking up the players a bit more than we have been used to, even all the way back to Trappatoni. Deep down, a lot of the managers [in the past] didn't think that we were as good as the teams that we were playing.
"We kept hearing 'we don't have the players' and 'we are doing the best with the players that we have' - I don't think that we're going to hear that from Stephen. This is the best bunch of players that he will have managed.
"This may be the biggest game of his career, whereas for some of the managers through the years this wouldn't have been. So he is looking at it from that point of view, and that is a positive."
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