McCarthy ready for Euro 2020 test

Republic of Ireland face Switzerland in Eur0 2020 qualifying on Thursday.

Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy says he wants his side to make life as difficult as possible for Switzerland when they play each other on Thursday night (Republic of Ireland 3/1, Switzerland 23/20, drew 21/10 – Euro 2020 Qualifying Match Betting).

In a crucial qualifier for Euro 2020, Ireland go into the game top of the group with 10 points from four games, though their opponents have only played twice so far due to their involvement in the Nations League finals.

Despite the fact it has been a struggle for Ireland in some of their games – only beating Gibraltar 1-0 and 2-0 respectively – they are still in a good position to qualify for the tournament next summer.

However, they still have to face Switzerland twice and play one more time against Denmark in the qualification period, meaning qualification is far from certain at this moment.

Ahead of the game, Swiss keeper Yann Sommer appeared to criticise Ireland for their direct and aggressive style of play, calling Mick McCarthy side “very unpleasant” to play against (Republic of Ireland 3 Or More Corners In Each Half 7/2 – #PickYourPunt).

While McCarthy has rejected that tag, he has instructed his team to make life as awkward as possible when they play at the Aviva Stadium.

McCarthy said: “I thought we played quite pleasantly over the last four games, to be honest.

“My reaction to that; I hope he’s sat in the dressing room afterwards and he’s thinking it’s more unpleasant and he doesn’t want to see us in October.

“We won’t be changing the way we play. We’ll be playing our usual brand, even though some people find it unpleasant.”

Switzerland will be without Liverpool midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri after he opted out of the international fixtures to focus on domestic football while Ireland have a decision on who to play up front with none of their forwards having registered an international goal yet (David McGoldrick 4/1 – Anytime Goalscorer).

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