FT: Luxembourg 0-0 Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
Collins hits the post for Republic of Ireland in drab first half
Substitute Taylor rattles crossbar late in the game
Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson speaking on RTE:
"I give a lot of credit to Max O'Leary for six years he has been travelling and always supporting the keeper.
"Tonight is his first cap and I am delighted we have the chance to give him a cap and a chance to show the Irish people how good he is."
Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
As I said in the team news, tonight is Max O'Leary's debut for the Republic of Ireland.
It is six years after his initial call-up so the Bristol City stopper has certainly been made to wait for this moment!
Image source, InphoLuxembourg v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson has warned that Luxembourg will be no easy task and a win will be "really good for us" when they meet in tonight's friendly.
In years gone by, Luxembourg may have been viewed as a minnow of European football, but that no longer applies, with a 1-0 win over Sweden in March a barometer of how far they have come.
In 2021, they secured a famous 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup qualifier in Dublin and although the tables were turned in the return game, it is further reminder of what Luc Holtz's team is capable of.
The teams come in with slightly contrasting fortunes as Luxembourg fell to a 1-0 home defeat by Slovenia on Friday, just as Hallgrimsson's side grabbed a 1-1 home draw against a Senegal side ranked 41 places above by Fifa.
"They have shown in the past how quickly they have developed as a football team," the 57-year-old said of the opposition.
"They have had the same coach for a long time, really consistent in team selection, so it's more like playing a club team. Their knowledge of the team and each other is really at a high level.
This will serve as the Republic of Ireland's final friendly outing before the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in September.
Going into that campaign with momentum would be most welcome, but Hallgrimsson acknowledges the challenge ahead.
"I watched the Sweden game when they played here - they beat Sweden 1-0, they could have scored more goals against Sweden," added Hallgrimsson.
"I know a little bit about them, and the strength of Sweden, so I wouldn't look at it as a shock to the nation if we would not get a good result here.
"It's that good a team that a win here would be really good for us at this stage. I hope nobody is taking them lightly, if that is the right word to say."
Image source, InphoLuxembourg v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
"We talked before about who will be the player to take them to the World Cup? I think he is the biggest trump card."
Former Liverpool and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann was full of praise for Caoimhin Kelleher after the Republic of Ireland's 1-1 draw with Senegal on Friday.
Kelleher's resolve was finally broken in the 81st minute after making three big saves to keep the African side out in Dublin.
It has been a big week for the 26-year-old, who left Liverpool to join Brentford for an initial £12.5m, which could rise to £18m with add-ons.
According to former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given, "in the current climate he's worth every single penny, if not more".
"No disrespect to Brentford, but I'm surprised there wasn't a few more bigger clubs in," Given said on RTE Sport.
"Unless clubs have gone, 'let's have a look at him at Brentford. We know they are a selling club, let's see him as a number one for a year or two'.
"At 26 years of age he's still plenty young enough. He looks the real deal."
Read more of Given's thoughts on Kelleher here.
Image source, InphoLuxembourg v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
Republic of Ireland captain Nathan Collins will be joined by international team-mate Caoimhin Kelleher at Brentford next season and the 24-year-old is delighted to have the chance to play with the goalkeeper for club and country.
"I am looking forward to it. I get on really well with him here. He shows his qualities, but it will be even better when we can train together every day and build our relationship a bit more, on and off the field, to help Brentford and Ireland as well," Collins said.
"I am buzzing for him. It's a great move for him and he deserves to be a number one at a club."
Friday night's 1-1 friendly draw with Senegal at Aviva Stadium extended the Republic's unbeaten run to three games under Heimir Hallgrimsson.
That run has come off the back of a 5-0 drubbing by England at Wembley in November, and Collins believes his side have grown since that defeat and will want to continue on an upward trajectory by beating an ever-improving Luxembourg this evening in their friendly.
"The hurt in the dressing room after [the England game], it was not a nice place. For me, it created a new hunger," he added.
"It did definitely reset me to want to do better and improve for the next camp. It might work in a good way for us."
Image source, Getty ImagesLuxembourg v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson says he is taking the positives from Friday's 1-1 draw with Senegal.
The excellent Kasey McAteer gave the Irish the lead in the 21st minute when he reacted quickest after Yehvann Diouf saved his initial header.
Senegal were unbeaten in 20 matches heading into the friendly and got a deserved equaliser when Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr scored from close range with nine minutes remaining.
"I'm happy with the performance and there are a lot of positive things we can take from this," Hallgrimsson told RTE Sport.
"The negative thing is we conceded goals from crosses. It wasn't tactical - there were enough bodies in the box but we need to be a little bit more brave."
The former Iceland manager handed a first start to Leicester City's McAteer and he rewarded the faith shown by his manager by netting the opening goal in Dublin.
Hallgrimsson said the 23-year-old put in a "really good performance" on his maiden international start.
"He showed a lot of confidence, took players on and got the goal as a reward," he added.
"I'm really happy for him."
Image source, InphoLuxembourg v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
Substitute Ismaila Sarr equalised with nine minutes to play as Senegal drew 1-1 with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Friday.
Kasey McAteer, on his first Irish start, scored the opener in the 21st minute as the hosts took a deserved lead against a Senegal side without key players Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koulibaly and Nicolas Jackson.
Ryan Manning's cross into the area was flicked on by captain Nathan Collins, and McAteer's initial header was kept out by a superb save from Yehvanne Diouf.
However, the Leicester City midfielder reacted quickest to bring the ball down, turn and fire the ball into the unguarded net.
New Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher produced a stunning, fingertip save to turn Krepin Diatta's header onto the crossbar, and was later called upon to push the ball off the line as Senegal pushed for an equaliser.
That came when Iliman Ndiaye's cross found Cherif Ndiaye, who forced Kelleher into another strong save but Sarr was alert to smash home the rebound in the 81st minute.
Image source, InphoLuxembourg v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
Heimir Hallgrimsson makes five changes to the side who drew with Senegal last Friday.
There is a switch between the posts with Max O'Leary making his first appearance for the Republic of Ireland and replacing Caoimhin Kelleher.
Killian Phillips also makes his first start after his debut off the bench on Friday, with Jake O'Brien, Troy Parrott and Evan Ferguson also starting.
There are four alterations to the Luxembourg starting XI that were defeated by Slovenia.
Eldin Dzogovic, Florian Bohnert, Tomas Moreira, Aiman Dardari coming into the side replacing Mica Pinto, Leandro Barreiro, Tomas de Sousa and Brian Madjo.
Luxembourg: Pereira, Dzogovic, Jans, Korac, Carlson, Bohnert, Moreira, Barreiro, Da Sinani, Rodrigues, Dardari.
Subs: Barrela, Fox, Mahmutovic, Curci, Gerson, De Pina Duarte, V Thill, Veiga, Selimovic, Pinto, Videira, S Thill.
Republic of Ireland: O'Leary, O'Brien, Collins, O'Shea, Brady, McAteer, Knight, Phillips, Smallbone, Ferguson, Parrott.
Subs: Kelleher, Keeley, Doherty, Manning, Idah, Omobamidele, Moran, Scales, Ebosele, Taylor, Patrick, Lawai.
Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland
Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland (19:45 BST)
Good evening and welcome to our live text commentary of tonight's international friendly between Luxembourg and the Republic of Ireland.
It is Heimir Halligrimsson's side's last game before the World Cup qualifiers start in September.
Will he decide to rotate his squad to assess his options or will he want to continue to build on the Republic's positive momentum generated by a four-game unbeaten run and prioritise another win?
Luxembourg will be a tricky opponent, evidenced by the fact they picked up a shock win against Sweden in March, so it promises to be a good test for the Republic.
As mentioned we will have live text commentary as well as a report and reaction to follow.
Thanks for joining us - enjoy!
Image source, Inpho
Troy Parrott had a goal ruled out for offside in the second half
The Republic of Ireland signed off before World Cup qualifying in frustrating fashion as they were held to a goalless draw by Luxembourg.
In a game that had the feel of an end-of-season friendly, the visitors came closest to scoring in the first half as captain Nathan Collins hit the post.
Troy Parrott had a goal disallowed for offside in a scrappy second half before substitute Jack Taylor smashed a shot against the crossbar.
The Republic of Ireland will now look forward to the start of the World Cup qualifiers in September where they will face Portugal, Hungary and Armenia in Group F.
Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson made five changes from Friday night's 1-1 draw with Senegal for the trip to Luxembourg.
Max O'Leary made his debut in goal, six years after his first call-up, while Killian Phillips was handed a first start after his lively cameo in Dublin.
Jake O'Brien, Parrott and Evan Ferguson also came into the side as Hallgrimsson looked to assess his squad in their last game before the World Cup qualifiers.
The Icelandic boss had talked pre-game of the importance of a strong performance above a result, but it was a pedestrian first half from his side.
Luxembourg dominated the ball but failed to really test debutant O'Leary until he was called into action on 28 minutes.
The Bristol City stopper was forced to push Danel Sinani's strike behind after he had picked up on a loose pass from Ferguson and raced forward.
The Republic then went close to taking the lead against the run of play two minutes before the break.
Will Smallbone's flighted free-kick was headed into the path of Collins by Dara O'Shea, but the Irish captain's glancing header clipped the post.
O'Leary made a good save from Sinani's strike on his international debut
The visitors looked to increase the intensity in the second half and Kasey McAteer, who scored on his full debut against Senegal, scampered forward but dragged his low shot wide of the far post.
The game fell into a familiar lull until just after the hour mark when Taylor curled his first-time effort wide from the edge of the box.
At the other end, O'Leary saved substitute Vincent Thill's shot from a tight angle with his foot.
Parrott thought he had finally broken the deadlock when he produced a composed finish on 65 minutes to lift the ball over Tiago Pereira and into the empty net, but the flag was raised for offside.
Taylor then rattled the crossbar on 87 minutes with a rasping strike from outside the box as Hallgrimsson's side were forced to settle for a draw against a side ranked 31 places below them.
Next up for the Republic are those aforementioned World Cup qualifiers, and they begin with a double-header in September at home against Hungary and away to Armenia.
Manager: Luc Holtz
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Heimir Hallgrímsson
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Luc Holtz
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Heimir Hallgrímsson
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Friendlies
All competitions
All competitions
All competitions
Luxembourg have won one and lost six of their seven meetings with Republic of Ireland in all competitions, with that victory coming during a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier (1-0).
Republic of Ireland have won all four of their away matches against Luxembourg in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and conceding just one.
Luxembourg have won just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions (D3 L7), beating Sweden 1-0 in a friendly back in March.
Republic of Ireland won 2-1 at Bulgaria in their last away match, last winning back-to-back away games in November 2021, the second of which was against Luxembourg.
Republic of Ireland have lost just two of their last 41 matches in all competitions against sides ranked 90th or lower in the FIFA World Rankings (W33 D6), with Luxembourg currently 91st. However, one of those defeats came against Luxembourg, losing 1-0 at home in March 2021.
Unbeaten in their last three games, Republic of Ireland are looking to go four without defeat for the first time since a run of eight between September 2021 and March 2022.
Kasey McAteer scored on his first start for Republic of Ireland against Senegal last time out. The last player to score in his first two starts for the Boys in Green was Stephen Ireland in February 2007.
Evan Ferguson has scored five goals in 21 appearances for Republic of Ireland (14 starts), with only Robbie Keane (7) and David Connolly (6) netting more for the Boys in Green before turning 21. However, four of his five goals have come in home games.
