Ireland’s Alan Browne has claimed that the squad lacks a world-class figure to help them win games.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side lost both Nations League games 2-0 to England and Greece, with many already seeing the campaign as over after just two games.
For years, Wales were in a similar situation to Ireland but had former Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur star Gareth Bale bail them out of trouble.
Ireland lacks a Bale these days and can only rely on young prospects like Evan Ferguson to guide them towards major tournaments.
This week, Glen Whelan shared his opinion, questioning if some of the Ireland players were actually good enough to play for their country.
“It’s not easy, me as a fan watching that. I’m just a little bit worried. Does it really hurt the lads as much as it’s hurting me?” Whelan added on Virgin Media TV.
Browne also gave his reasons for Ireland’s struggles. The midfielder believes the current squad is missing a game-changer more than anything.
“I think there are quite a lot of players who have captained their club or captained their country. If you look at the team, there are a good few in there,” said to RTE
“We probably don’t have that presence, that Premier League-quality player that stands out a mile from the rest like you might have had in years gone by.
“Boys are playing in the Premier League and doing quite well, but we don’t have that world-class figure that everyone looks at and thinks, ‘he is going to win us the game.’
“I know Evan (Ferguson) has obviously got a bright future, but it is a lot to put on his shoulders, being so young. And at the moment, he hasn’t played a lot of football. Yes, you are probably just missing that presence rather than leadership.”
The double defeat at the hands of England and Greece means that Ireland has won just three of their last 15 matches—two of those coming against minnows Gibraltar.
A lot has been made about Ireland’s performances and style of play, but Browne admits that, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is results at the highest standard of international football.
“It doesn’t matter how well or how poorly you play. Results are the most important thing. That’s what we need to get into the habit of.
“Whatever way it looks, we need to win games. We haven’t done that for a long time. We haven’t ground out results; we haven’t dominated games and gotten results. Whatever way we’ve played and however it’s looked, we’ve always come out on the wrong side, more or less.”
Ireland next travels to Finland for their fixture on October 10. Just three days later, on October 13, Ireland will face Greece again, this time away.
Their penultimate match will be on November 14, when they host Finland. Finally, Ireland will conclude their group stage on November 17 with a match against England.
