Republic of Ireland: Stephen Kenny faces defining week as World Cup hopes hang by a thread

Republic's youthful forwards Troy Parrott, Adam Idah and Aaron Connolly hope to make a significant impact over the next week

Nobody can accuse Stephen Kenny of having had an easy ride as Republic of Ireland boss.

Appointed Mick McCarthy's successor four months earlier than planned in April 2020, the Dubliner has, in his first 16 months, been forced to withstand enough setbacks and headaches to last a career.

There have been several Covid-related squad issues, including the loss of key players Adam Idah and Aaron Connolly on the eve of the Euro 2020 play-off semi-final against Slovakia, an FAI investigation into a video he showed his players before November's friendly defeat by England, the resignation of backroom team members Damien Duff and Alan Kelly and, of course, the humiliating home defeat by Luxembourg in March.

While that torturous spring evening at an empty Aviva Stadium naturally raised serious questions about Kenny's future, football didn't bother stopping to sympathise with the crestfallen Boys in Green.

Since the Republic lost to the minnows in Dublin, we have had the formation - and spectacular collapse - of a European Super League, England nearly ending their 55-year tournament heartache at the European Championship and the scarcely believable act of Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona to join Paris St-Germain. Oh, and Cristiano Ronaldo rejoining Manchester United.

Yes, it has been a long five months since Luxembourg forward Gerson Rodrigues' drilled low shot past Gavin Bazunu plunged the Republic into near unprecedented humiliation, but it has undoubtedly felt longer to Kenny, who has faced an agonising wait before sinking his teeth into another testing triple-header.

And they do not come much bigger as Kenny reckons with a quickfire trio of games that will make or break the Republic's hopes of securing World Cup qualification for the first time in 20 years.

First up is a trip to Faro for the Irish team's first competitive meeting with Portugal since June 2001, when Luis Figo ruined a party on Lansdowne Road by striking late to cancel out Roy Keane's opener in a gripping qualifier for the 2002 tournament.

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Then, following a quick turnaround, a home double-header against Azerbaijan and Serbia awaits in what will be Kenny's long-awaited bow in front of Irish fans at the Aviva.

The state of affairs is simple. With zero points from two games, the Republic require an epic week in order to revive their campaign and bring them closer to Portugal and Serbia, who occupy the coveted top two spots in Group A.

The magnitude of the task that looms for the Republic is daunting; no nation has ever qualified for the World Cup finals after losing their first two matches in qualifying.

Thankfully for Kenny, however, gone is the vexatious narrative surrounding his wait for a first win in charge. His team took care of that in June with a 4-1 friendly success in Andorra, a fruitful Iberian expedition that also yielded Troy Parrott's first senior goals.

And 19-year-old Tottenham striker Parrott, having started his loan spell at MK Dons with two goals in five games, keeps his place in a squad that has once again been shaped by injury and illness.

Callum Robinson, a possible partner for Parrott in attack, has been ruled out of the Portugal game after contracting Covid-19 for the second time in nine months, a major blow given the 26-year-old has scored three in four for West Brom this season.

The Republic's last competitive meeting with Portugal was a 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw in Dublin in June 2001

Preston midfielder Alan Browne, who scored in the Republic's defeat by Serbia in Belgrade in March, also misses out as a close contact of a positive case.

Enda Stevens, Jason Knight, James McCarthy and Callum O'Dowda are injured, while seasoned campaigners Darren Randolph, Ciaran Clark and Robbie Brady were overlooked.

The Portugal game will naturally set the tone for this window and there is no clearer illustration of the task facing the Irish in Faro than Fernando Santos' star-studded panel.

Headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo, who will presumably have a spring in his step after sealing a sensational return to Manchester United, the 2016 European champions will also have rock-solid Manchester City defender Ruben Dias, Ronaldo's new club team-mate Bruno Fernandes and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who has three goals in his last two qualifiers, to call upon.

Even without Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix, it is a dazzling array of talent for a nation that have lost only one of their last 38 home matches in World Cup qualifying, and who go up against a team that have failed to win in their last 13 competitive outings.

But Kenny can at least be thankful that his defensive unit appears in finer fettle than they were six months ago.

Shane Duffy, who lost his place for the defeats by Serbia and Luxembourg, has revived his Brighton career following a difficult loan spell at Celtic last season, while Dara O'Shea has started the season strongly for Championship promotion hopefuls West Brom.

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Captain Seamus Coleman, who will be 33 by the time the Republic play Qatar on 12 October, has also looked sharp for Everton in recent weeks after extending his contract with Rafael Benitez's side until 2023.

It seems plausible that, to combat Ronaldo and co, Kenny will opt for 19-year-old Bazunu behind a five-man defence of Coleman, Duffy, John Egan, O'Shea and makeshift left wing-back James McClean, now back at Wigan after leaving Stoke.

Kenny's midfield situation is a little more complicated. While Jason Knight is injured, Conor Hourihane and Jayson Molumby have joined Sheffield United and West Brom in recent days after a lack of game time at Aston Villa and Brighton respectively. Harry Arter, another contender for Kenny's engine room, has been frozen out at Nottingham Forest.

And while Josh Cullen and Jamie McGrath have been playing regularly for Anderlecht and St Mirren, Jeff Hendrick is yet to feature in the Premier League for Newcastle this season.

It is far from ideal for Kenny, who must manage his squad proficiently during a potentially defining window that will see them play 270 minutes in six days.

McCarthy, his predecessor, managed a point away to Portugal in the 2002 qualifying campaign, but Kenny needs two more than that if he is to breathe new life into the Republic's hopes of securing their ticket to Qatar.

It appears a tall order. Then again, just about anything is possible in World Cup qualifying. Just ask Luxembourg.