'There’s no hiding now' says Alan Browne as Ireland's attention turns to Netherlands decider

Ireland take on the Netherlands at the Aviva stadium on Sunday for what is surely a must win game.

DUTCH AND GO: Ireland's Alan Browne. Pic Credit ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

There’s no time to dwell on the Republic of Ireland’s 2-0 defeat to France at Princes Stadium according to Alan Browne, with the Cork native saying the team needs to ‘shift their focus’ towards Sunday’s meeting with the Netherlands at the Aviva Stadium.

It was a night that saw Stephen Kenny’s team never really get going as they spent the majority of the game camped inside their own half, dealing with a Les Bleus team filled with superstars like Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

Their resistance was broken with a goal that Aurélien Tchouaméni scored from outside the area, and France started the second half by doubling their lead through a close range finish from Marcus Thuram.

To some, the sheer calibre of player in the French team was a silver lining, not to Browne and the Ireland squad.

“We were still disappointed – you want to win every game or take something from every game no matter who you face,” Browne talked about the mood inside the dressing room at full-time.

“No matter how the game goes, you’re always going to be disappointed as a player. That is the nature of the game. It was going to be a big ask and we have to get over it now. We have to shift our focus to Sunday because that is the big one for us.”

One thing that played a part in the game was the intense heat inside Princes Park, with temperatures peaking at 34° at point on Thursday.

This is something that Ireland have historically struggled with. The squad even went on a warm weather training camp last June to learn to deal with the conditions in Greece before a Euro 2024 qualifier.

Ireland did what they could in difficult circumstances, and Browne knows that the caldron like Princes Park had a factor in his side’s eventual demise.

“It was tough but we have played in worse – it didn’t help our case but we didn’t lose because of the heat,” he looked back.

“That was an extra barrier against us, I suppose, and it is something that they are used to and us not so much. It was a night game and it could have been an awful lot worse, it has been an awful lot worse.”

Now it is all about the Netherlands visit to the Aviva Stadium, a game that will dictate Ireland’s chances of making it to Euro 2024.

The only thing that matters to Stephen Kenny and his players is the three points, their entire qualification campaign hinges on beating the Dutch.

Browne knows that this is a must win qualifier, and it’s up to the squad to deliver in front of a sold out crowd.

“There’s no hiding now - we always knew that was going to be the case after the Greece game,” he said.

“We would have had to try our best to get something from tonight but it was always going to be a big one season.

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