Kenny's reign leaves Ireland in lowly 60th place of FIFA rankings
LOWLY RANKING: Republic of Ireland players react after their side's defeat to Holland in the UEFA EURO 2024 Championship qualifying group B match. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
It may be years before Stephen Kenny’s legacy as Ireland manager is known but his immediate gift was overseeing results that sunk the team to their lowest ranking for eight years.
Ireland were positioned 34th when Kenny’s elevation to the senior post was accelerated in April 2020 but the final results of his final pair of matches, losing the final Euro qualifier to Netherlands and drawing a friendly against New Zealand, have continued the tumble to 60th place.
Crucially, that leaves managerless Ireland 29th of Europe’s nations, straddling the threshold of seedings.
They will be third seeds in the Nations League draw to be held in Paris on February 8 and that campaign between September and November will determine their standing in the draw for the 2026 World Cup.
The FAI have commenced the process to source Kenny’s successor.
Director of Football Marc Canham is leading the search by sounding out potential candidates, with Lee Carsley and Chris Hughton established as the early favourites.
Both are in employment but others such as Roy Keane, Neil Lennon and Steve Bruce may be spoken to about their suitability for the vacancy.
Ireland’s next games are a pair of friendlies in March, both likely to be at home.
