Callum O'Dowda and Robbie Brady hoping to recapture past promise

As a cautionary tale to the hordes being presumptuous about Ireland's present batch of bright young things, absorb the tales of Brady and O’Dowda for perspective

FRUSTRATION: Callum O'Dowda has had a frustrating time with injuries stalling his Ireland career in the past few years. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Has there been a highpoint of Irish football in the last 20 years resembling Copenhagen in November 2017? Probably not.

A scoreless draw at the Parken Stadium didn’t match the lustre of Lille for magic but it shuttled Ireland nicely to within 90 minutes of a World Cup felt like the next step.