A look at the Republic of Ireland's player performances against Bulgaria tonight.

In a spirit of, as he put it,“nothing ventured, nothing gained”, Mick McCarthy has made the left-field decision to play Conor Hourihane atleft-back against Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium tonight.

Four players have withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland squad for Thursday's Euro 2020 qualifier against Switzerland due to fitness issues.

Mick McCarthy has named his Ireland squad for the forthcoming European Championship qualifier against Switzerland and the friendly with Bulgaria.

QPR have called for action to be taken “at every level of our game” after the club’s under-18 side walked off the pitch during a friendly in Spain following alleged racist abuse by opposition players.

Manchester United may have finished only sixth in the table last season but they comfortably retained their position as the leading developers of Premier League talent.

Mick McCarthy has said that it’s a straightforward case of lack of game time at Everton which has cost James McCarthy his place in the Ireland squad.

Ireland's Derrick Williams has spoken out about being on the end of online racist abuse from one of his club's own supporters.

It’s a real game of two halves for Irish football just now.

As The Who once put it: meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Also included is Aston Villa's Glenn Whelan, who was expected to have played his last game for Ireland after captaining the side in a 36-minute ceremonial cameo against Northern Ireland in November.

His predecessor Martin O’Neill had to wait 10 months for his first competitive match, but half that duration is just as frustrating for Mick McCarthy when he’s had no Ireland fixtures at all.

Daniel Storey on the weekend's talking points...

The one moment of real cheer for the loud and loyal travelling support in Aarhus came with the arrival into senior international football, with 10 minutes remaining, of Michael Obafemi.

Martin O'Neill says he is still hopeful Declan Rice will commit his international future to the Republic of Ireland, but admits some circumstances favour England.

Midfielder Glenn Whelan will lead Ireland out as captain against Northern Ireland for what will be his 85th senior appearance. The Aston Villa man will not be part of the squad for the Denmark game.

We are the rats, the Aviva Stadium is our lab, and we’re going to get our arses electrocuted no matter what happens, writes Tommy Martin

Saturday may have delivered a first ever start and a competitive debut for his country but it’s hard to imagine Matt Doherty keeping this bore draw with Denmark on the Sky+ list for very long.

Almost five years into his reign, at a cost of €10m in wages, Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane are, apparently, laying building blocks for the Ireland squad.

A colleague recently posted a fantastic photo of his newborn son, eyes fiercely blazing, face all scrunched up, the very picture of a tiny Mr Angry. Another colleague was quick to respond that it surely wasn’t good parenting to have exposed one so tender to the brutal highlights of Ireland 1, Denmark 5, writes Liam Mackey.

Martin O’Neill has accused Alan Shearer of not doing his homework before singling out Cyrus Christie for criticism on MOTD2.

Matt Doherty has expressed his frustration at his lack of a Republic of Ireland start under Martin O'Neill.

Poland 1Ireland 1

The Everton full-back has picked up a foot injury.

Even on the back of a painful hiding, one game into a new campaign might seem a bit too early to be talking about crisis.

The only bit of good Nations League news out of last night for Ireland is that, with Denmark’s stand-off with their federation now resolved, they are sure to present a rather more formidable obstacle to Wales in Aarhus on Sunday than sorry Ireland were able to muster in Cardiff.

Glenn Whelan will be given the honour of leading Ireland out against Northern Ireland in the friendly at the Aviva in November.

If anyone from the Ireland squad deserves a break after a long season, it is Matt Doherty but not until he caps it off with a 50th appearance today.

Assuming he comes through tonight’s game away to Sligo Rovers unscathed, Shamrock Rovers hotshot Graham Burke is set to feature in the Irish team which will take on a Celtic XI in Scott Brown’s testimonial game at Parkhead tomorrow (kick-off 2pm).

Much like the persistence of racism, to be still talking about a problem that existed in the days when Graeme Souness had a moustache and a perm feels like a depressing indictment of humanity’s inability to change for the better, writes Tommy Martin.

Ireland defender Cyrus Christie has again highlighted the level of racist abuse he receives online.

Perhaps the worst thing to have to observe about the online racist abuse which was directed at Cyrus Christie after he scored an own goal in Ireland’s 5-1 play-off defeat to Denmark, is that not only was it nothing new to him.

Shane Duffy was named the FAI Senior Player of the Year for 2017 last night but the big Brighton defender was unable to collect his award in person as the weather took its toll on the annual televised ceremony in RTÉ, with the programme having to be shortened from a scheduled running time of 90 minutes to one hour.

In calling up Declan Rice to his squad for this month’s training camp and friendly in Turkey, Martin O’Neill has stressed that the highly-rated young West Ham defender, who is still eligible to play senior football for both Ireland and England, will not come under any pressure to decide his international future.

Martin O'Neill has expressed his surprise at Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill's claim that the Republic of Ireland are targeting Catholic players from across the border.

Grotesque abuse hurled at Cyrus Christie online came to the fore this week, the latest example of how football, and sport in general, continues to battle the scourge of racism.

IF the misogyny, the bigotry, the homophobia, the racism, the bullying, the hatred, the dangerous ignorance, the xenophobic nationalism and irrational hostility that make up far too much of today’s online commentary were expressed in the columns of this or any other newspaper lawyers would demand and get the kind of damages that would put the survival of any traditional media platform in jeopardy.

“Shame Ruby Walsh did not break both legs.”

Liam Brady believes the lack of emerging talent is linked to Kerr’s absence from an active role in Irish football and that he should be brought back into the fold.

‘I thought that John and myself had agreed to stay on…but we’ll see.”

Darren Randolph has admitted his shock at the manner of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup play-off nightmare.

Rep of Ireland 1 Denmark 5