IRELAND HAVE SCORED A GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Valencia midfielder Uros Racic is one of two debutants in the Serbia team.

Image source, BBC Sport

Ireland are playing quite well so far but Serbia have had the only two shots of the game.

A draw would be a good result here, right? A goal would be even better.

Image source, Reuters

A lot of attention on Norway tonight, who are playing Gibraltar.

Captain Martin Odergaard had said the team were planning to make a statement about the human rights record of 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, before the game.

And Odergaard, Erling Braut Haaland and their team-mates have worn T-shirts saying "respect - on and off the pitch".

Wales have just taken a surprise lead in Belgium through Harry Wilson. A Gareth Bale assist.

Follow BBC Wales' live text commentary here.

Dusan Tadic whips in a couple of good corners for Serbia but the Irish defence deal well with them.

Now Tadic sends defenders one way and then the other but his cross is headed away.

Excellent defending by Irish captain Seamus Coleman - playing in a back three - to stop a through ball.

Mark Travers slips as he takes his goal-kick for Ireland and it lands to a Serbia player, but luckily on the halfway line.

Pinball around the box, Ciaran Clark is involved but it's a goal-kick.

Josh Cullen and Alan Browne play a one-two from the corner and win another one.

Bright start for Ireland as right wing-back Matt Doherty wins a corner within 60 seconds.

We are under way in Belgrade and presumably everywhere else too.

Image source, Getty Images

Kylian Mbappe becomes the youngest player to reach 40 caps with the French national team (22 years and three months) this evening.

Some going. He's got 16 goals from his previous 39 appearances for Les Bleus but plenty of time to get that ratio up.

The Republic of Ireland haven’t lost their opening match in a World Cup qualifying campaign since the 1978 World Cup qualifying campaign against France, losing 2-0 in 1976 in Paris under Johnny Giles. They are unbeaten in 10 such games since then (W7 D3).

Stephen Kenny is actually the more experienced international manager today. Dragan Stojkovic takes charge of Serbia for the first time.

The Republic of Ireland - who last qualified for a World Cup in 2002 - start this campaign hoping to finally get a first win under Stephen Kenny.

Since Kenny replaced Mick McCarthy last April, they have not managed to win any of his eight games in charge.

They have only scored once - in his first game.

Gavin O'Brien: delighted with the team that Kenny has picked. Hendrick & Brady have been stealing a wage with both their clubs and country for a few years now so no loss.Its an inexperienced team & the largely uniformed Irish soccer public only want wins, style ain't important.

Tonight's Ireland game is being played at the Rajko Mitic Stadium, home of Red Star Belgrade.

Image source, Inpho

France: Lloris, Pavard, Varane, Kimpembe, Lucas, Kante, Rabiot, Coman, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud.

Ukraine: Bushchan, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Kryvtsov, Mykolenko, Shaparenko, Karavayev, Sydorchuk, Zinchenko, Malinovsky, Yaremchuk.