Changing shapes for Mick McCarthy's flexible Ireland

A funny thing happened on the way to the top of Group D last Tuesday night. The Republic of Ireland forced Georgia to change formation during the first half of their second successive 1-0 win on the path towards Euro 2020.

"Ireland set an extremely high tempo in the first half," Georgia manager Vladimir Weiss said in his post-match press conference. "We changed from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3," added the ever-courteous Slovakian, who congratulated Ireland twice in his remarks and referred repeatedly to the intensity of the occasion.