Ireland’s Euro 2016 hopefuls have three games, and about five more training sessions, to state their case.
Friday’s friendly against Switzerland, and next week’s encounter with Slovakia, represent the third and second last showcases Irish players will have before Martin O’Neill names his 30-man squad.
During his latest conversations with the Irish press corp, O’Neill revealed the date he will let the lucky players know they are going to France.
The Derry native will select his squad on May 28 and submit it to Uefa officials.
That means players can still impress upon O’Neill and Roy Keane in the final European Championships warm-up against The Netherlands on Friday, May 27 at the Aviva Stadium.
That is good news for the likes of Harry Arter and Anthony Pilkington, who have both been hampered by injuries despite good, respective seasons with Bournemouth and Cardiff. On Monday, Keane said:
“It’s disappointing but it’s part of the game but hopefully Harry will have a chance to get involved for the Dutch game.
“It’s not the end of the world and there won’t be any doors shut on him because he has the benefit of playing most weeks.”
It’s not now or never but, for those lucky enough to get a tranche of minutes on Friday and Tuesday, it may well feel like it.
Realistically, O’Neill will have 18 or 19 players he will definitely take to France. For the rest, the auditions are about to begin.
