The Republic of Ireland welcome Azerbaijan to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening, the first international to be played in front of supporters since the start of the pandemic.
Stephen Kenny's team returned to Dublin following the 2-1 defeat to Portugal as Cristiano Ronaldo scored a heartbreaking late brace to seal the win for the home side.
The Boys in Green will be looking to to seal their first win of the campaign against Azerbaijan ahead of the match against Serbia on Tuesday, September 7th.
What time is kick-off and where can I watch it?
Kick off is at 5pm and there will be live coverage on RTÉ 2 and Sky Sports.
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The match-day squad to face Azerbaijan 🇮🇪
Callum Robinson, Ronan Curtis and Alan Browne all come into the squad 💪
KO - 3 hours 🙌#COYBIG | #WeAreOne | #IRLAZE pic.twitter.com/WcAi5GN81A— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) September 4, 2021
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Having trained with the squad on Friday, Callum Robinson and Alan Browne are both in, along with Ronan Curtis.
Defenders Dara O'Shea and Nathan Collins have been withdrawn from the squad through injury.
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“It will be a proud moment for the players with the fans back,” said Stephen Kenny.
“We have handed many young players their debuts recently but in empty stadia and it is not comparable. They will have their families and their friends there tomorrow night and those who have been on their football journey with them. They will be very proud.
“It will be a different challenge from Portugal but once we can't take lightly.”
Ireland defender Matt Doherty said: “I am a player who needs the crowd back. It is a game changer for me when there are fans there and it helps bring us to a different level.
“The home fans will make a big difference for us against Azerbaijan and Serbia and will be a real positive for us.
“We've got to build on the performance in midweek and get a result which we need to kick-start the campaign really.
“We want to get going and the lads are eager to get points on the board so we'll be going all out for the win.”
What does the group table look like right now?
As things stand, Portugal are the frontrunners with 10 points after four matches played. Next is Serbia on seven points, followed closely by Luxembourg on six.
The Republic of Ireland have no points to their credit to date, alongside Azerbaijan.
