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Football

23rd Mar 2019

Mick McCarthy has named his Republic of Ireland starting XI for the game against Gibraltar

Robert Redmond

Seamus Coleman captains the team.

Mick McCarthy has named his Republic of Ireland starting XI for the game against Gibraltar.

Ireland get their Euro 2020 qualification campaign underway on Saturday evening against the Group D minnows and nothing less than three points will constitute success.

McCarthy, in his second stint in the job, has made some changes from Martin O’Neill’s final match in charge – a dour goalless draw with Denmark in November.

The team appear to be lining out in a 4-4-2 formation, rather than the back-three selected by the former manager.

Darren Randolph starts in goal, Seamus Coleman is at right-back, with Enda Stevens at left-back. Shane Duffy and Richard Keogh are the central defensive pairing.

In midfield, Matt Doherty starts on the right and James McClean gets the nod ahead of Robbie Brady on the left wing. Jeff Hendrick and Conour Hourihane start in central midfield.

David McGoldrick and Sean Maguire are the front two.

Here’s the team in full:

The match is the first time Gibraltar have hosted a qualification game, having previously played their fixtures in Portugal.

Gibraltar have recorded some impressive results over the last year. They beat Armenia and Liechtenstein in the Uefa Nations League and beat Latvia in a friendly.

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