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The Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualification campaign has reached crunch-point after just four games with Sunday’s Group B clash with the Netherlands pivotal to their dwindling hopes. Defeat would leave Ireland trailing in the wake of France, the Dutch and Greece and all but mathematically unable to make it to Germany next year. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding a crucial fixture. Clock running for Kenny? For his critics, Kenny’s reign is fast reaching the point of no return. Under the 51-year-old, who was appointed as Mick McCarthy’s successor in April 2020, Ireland have won only five of the 25 competitive matches they have played – against Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Scotland, Armenia and Gibraltar – and are perilously close to missing out on a third tournament. Kenny has blooded a new generation of players with the 18-year-old Evan Ferguson, injured for the fixtures against France and the Netherlands, in particular prompting genuine excitement, and has vowed to play an exciting brand of football, a blend which has been welcomed by supporters. However, it is yet to pay off the hard currency of meaningful wins and a failure to buck that trend against the Dutch could signal the beginning of the end. Rank outsiders Ireland will have to significantly out-perform their FIFA ranking if they are to get the better of Ronald Koeman’s men at the Aviva Stadium. They are currently ranked 53rd while the Dutch are seventh, and their recent record does not make for encouraging reading. Azerbaijan appear in 121st place in the world list, Luxembourg 89th, Scotland 30th – a marked improvement on where they stood ahead of their defeat at the Aviva in June last year – Armenia 90th and Gibraltar 198th. Striker light Timing is everything in football and the loss of blossoming talent Ferguson to a knee injury just days after the Brighton teenager rattled in a Premier League hat-trick against Newcastle could hardy have come at a worse time. Kenny asked Norwich frontman Adam Idah to lead the line with support from Chiedozie Ogbene and Jason Knight in Thursday night’s 2-0 defeat by France, and his options remain limited with the absent quintet of Ferguson, Callum Robinson, Mikey Johnston, Michael Obafemi and Troy Parrott having been joined by Will Keane after the game in Paris. Aaron Connolly will hope for a chance, but Idah remains the most likely spearhead for an attack largely blunted in Paris. Dutch courage If Ireland need inspiration ahead of a daunting task, they can cast their minds back 22 years to the day the Dutch last lost in Dublin. Few neutrals gave McCarthy’s men much chance of beating a star-studded Dutch side which included Edwin van der Sar, Jaap Stam, Marc Overmars, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert and substitutes Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Pierre van Hooijdonk in a World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne Road in September 2001, particularly after Gary Kelly’s 58th-minute dismissal. But Jason McAteer’s strike secured a famous win which helped to propel his side to the finals in the Far East on a day which lives long in the nation’s sporting memory. Koeman on strong Ronald Koeman endured an ignominious start to his second spell as Netherlands boss when his side were trounced 4-0 in France at the start of the campaign. However, the former Everton and Barcelona manager has steadied the ship since and a regulation 3-0 victory over Gibraltar coupled with Thursday night’s win against Greece by the same score either side of Nations League finals defeats by Croatia and Italy have got their qualification bid back on track. A third would leave them six points better off than the Republic with a game in hand. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fit, healthy and firing – Andy Farrell hails Johnny Sexton’s Ireland comeback England held by Ukraine in Poland after Kyle Walker equaliser Daniil Medvedev knows he will need to produce perfect performance to win US Open

If the drama on the pitch at the Sidemen charity match wasn’t enough, then the one-liners from commentator Stephen “Stephen Tries” Lawson got people talking online, as he took aim at the likes of KSI, MrBeast and IShowSpeed in his analysis. Joined by Hashtag United founder Spencer Owen, the YouTuber – who has more than a million subscribers on the platform – narrated the match which resulted in an 8-5 win for Sidemen FC. So, allow us to recap all of the greatest witticisms the content creator rolled out: “Speed, quick as a flash – although… I shouldn’t say flash, actually” Commenting on the streamer’s remarkable pace on the pitch, Lawson referred to last month’s scandal surrounding Speed where he accidentally exposed himself to fans during a YouTube livestream. “Chris MD there, just speaking to a woman saying how hot he is – have a day off, lad” A brutal joke given YouTuber Chris Dixon reportedly split from his girlfriend earlier this year. “Simon is a born winner. The only thing he’s ever lost is my invite to his wedding.” Simon “Miniminter” Minter married singer Talia Mar earlier this year. “MrBeast, the most subbed man on YouTube. What does that tell you? He’s got bad stamina!” A cheeky play on words about MrBeast and his 182 million subscribers. “WillNE is wearing a camera on his chest, but as we all know, it can take time to get used to playing with a strap on” No need for an explanation here... “Harry pictured his mother’s face in the top corner” Referencing the infamous 2017 video in which Harry “WroeToShaw” Lewis hit his mum in the face with a football, Stephen Tries pulled out this one-liner when the YouTuber scored the fifth goal for Sidemen FC in the second half. “I’ve never been more worried about a sub since the OceanGate incident.” One of Lawson’s edgier remarks, referring to the tragic implosion of the Titan submersible during its venture to the Titanic in July. “He’s great with his hands, even better with his elbows, it’s KSI.” KSI was in goal for this match, in order to avoid an injury ahead of his fight against Tommy Fury next month, and that led to a range of hand-related jokes about the boxer’s previous matches. This one concerned his bout against Joe Fournier which was ruled a “no contest” instead of a knockout after cameras picked up on his elbow connecting with his opponent’s face before he fell to the floor. “Great preparation for him catching Tommy Fury’s hands next month” The match takes place in Manchester on October 14. “KSI’s feeling the fury now” An easy pun, of course, in reference to KSI's rising anger at his team's defence on the pitch. “I’m not going anywhere,” says Harry - that was actually when he was defending the statue of Churchill, but we won’t go into that” Sidemen member Harry Lewis is known for making edgier jokes than the rest of the group - including on Brexit, refugees and immigration – and was the only member of the Sidemen to not issue an apology following a Sidemen upload which saw KSI say a racial slur. “Filly, a Columbian export with a powerful kick – I’ve had that before” Rapper Yung Filly played for the YouTube All-Stars during the match at London Stadium. “Mr Beast cured 100 people’s blindness, Deji wasn’t one of them” When KSI’s brother Deji Olatunji was spotted wearing goggles on the pitch, Lawson brought up a recent upload by the most-subscribed YouTuber in which he paid for cataract surgery for 1,000 blind people (not the 100 people Stephen claimed). And away from Stephen Tries’ comedy, YouTuber Max Fosh got a few laughs when he responded to the first booking of the match with the good ol' Uno reverse card for referee Mark Clattenburg in the 77th minute. Classic. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Moldovan soccer player Violeta Mitul has died aged 26 in a "tragic accident," European soccer's governing body UEFA announced on Friday.

Remco Evenepoel has won a mountainous 14th stage of the Spanish Vuelta a day after his bid to retain his title suffered a devastating blow

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny is targeting his best victory yet as he prepares for a must-win Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands. The game in Dublin appears to be a make-or break affair for Ireland, who have collected just three points from their first four Group B fixtures and will effectively be out of the race for qualification if they lose to the Dutch. Memories of a famous Irish victory over the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifier in 2001 have inevitably come to the fore in recent days, but Kenny is reluctant to compare his team to the one in which Shay Given, Roy Keane, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane played. Kenny said: “We’re not comparing ourselves to the team of 2001, they had some of the best players to ever play for Ireland. “We’re an emerging team. We’ve shown a capacity to raise our game in front of our own support, our impassioned support and we’ve put in some very good performances at home there. “It’s a game that will challenge us. Holland have players of the highest calibre, players with the top clubs. “We’ve gone toe-to-toe with some of the best teams and we must raise our game and get our best victory yet as a team. That’s what we’d have to do and that’s the challenge for us. “We’ll need the supporters to help us do that, we need that energy in the ground. We need that high-octane support to be really passionate and get behind the team and give the players energy. “All their physical stats are very high after Paris in the heat, a tough game, so to go again, we’ll need everyone to really fire.” Ireland finalised their preparations at a sunny Abbotstown on Saturday after recovering from Thursday night’s energy-sapping 2-0 defeat in France. Defender Enda Stevens and forward Will Keane are out of the game through injury and strikers Sinclair Armstrong and Jonathan Afolabi have been drafted into the squad. Whatever team Kenny picks, the players will know the stakes could hardly be higher with failure simply not an option. Kenny said: “We know a victory is important for us, we know how important it is, that’s where it is. We’ll prepare well – as well as we can after just coming back on Thursday night – and make sure we’re ready. “The players are clear on how we’re going to play and we’ll certainly be tested against this team. We’ll have to match them and we are capable of doing that and we have to show the belief and conviction to try to get the win that we need.” Defender Shane Duffy, who made his first international appearance since June last year in the game at the Parc des Princes, is a veteran of the 1-0 Euro 2016 victory over Italy and knows he and his team-mates need to summon up a similar spirit to get what they need against the Dutch. Duffy said: “It’s a huge game. Something we’ve to all thrive off and make it another special night as it’s more memories we can create. “I think personally the games, they’re memories that I talk about to my children, big nights for your country. It’s another chance for us to make it another special night at the Aviva and make more memories.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live England’s Lauren Filer enjoying chance to shine after eye-catching ODI debut Ireland open World Cup campaign with 12-try thumping of Romania Debutants dominate as impressive England crush Sri Lanka in opening ODI

Jonathan Sexton gave Ireland and its fans a scare when he rubbed his left wrist after being slammed by a Romanian when scoring a try in a Rugby World Cup match in Bordeaux

The Netherlands visits Ireland for a game in which the losing team will have a tough job of qualifying for the European Championship via Group B

Brazil great Neymar has received a plaque for becoming the team’s all-time top goal-scorer in official matches

It might not necessarily be considered a typical football nation, but a striking new academy has been launched in Pakistan with Uefa-accredited coaches. Lahore, the capital of the Punjab in Pakistan and the country’s second-largest city, will now offer a football academy. Called the Legends Academy, it enrols over 300 children, both boys and girls, who take part in regular training sessions. Owner of the academy, Hamza Syed said: “It’s the only one in the country that offers Uefa-licensed coaching. We had another initiative four or five years ago but it collapsed and we are the only one and so far we’ve got 300 kids.” The country has its own Pakistan Premier League, with 16 teams, and although the stadiums are small, it is an important step. Syed added: “My three coaches are all ex-Premier League, Liverpool, Arsenal and the third one is arriving tomorrow morning was at Manchester United, and he was very senior he used to run the under-9s and under-6s as an elite coach. “This is a first of its kind venture in Pakistan.” Football is a growing sport in Pakistan. The World Cup was available on television, and while you may not find children playing from dawn till dusk like you would cricket, it is increasingly popular. Syed said: “The response has been fantastic. In the space (since launching a few months ago) we have 300 kids. Cricket is the national sport but in the city schools everyone follows the big leagues in Europe, everyone knows what’s going on, everyone wants to be Aguero. “Football is big, I would say it’s a misconception [that it isn’t].” The Lahore-based academy has girls in every age group, although the majority of children are boys. It is currently fee-paying to enrol into sessions, but Syed is hoping that can change with further investment more scholarships can be offered. The dream, as always, is to eventually have a Pakistani footballer playing in one of the top leagues in Europe, in a hope that would further encourage everyone in the country to take up the sport. Read More Officials use soccer to highlight climate worries in India's ecologically fragile Ladakh region Arsene Wenger reveals his blueprint for the future of football Ukraine vs England LIVE: Latest updates from Euro 2024 qualifying Harry Kane admits it ‘hurt’ watching England peers win titles while Tottenham toiled Man Utd winger Antony appears on Brazilian TV to deny assault allegations

Joe Burrow is not only the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback, he is the leader of a draft class that in a short time is making a run to be one of the best

England are taking on Ukraine in Poland tonight as qualifying for Euro 2024 continues with a meeting at the Tarczynski Arena between the top two sides in Group C. Gareth Southgate’s side already have four wins from four games on the board and sit atop Group C, and victory here over second-placed Ukraine would almost guarantee qualification for the tournament in Germany next summer. This is England’s only competitive match of the September international break, with a friendly against Scotland to come next week. Ukraine are having to stage the fixture in the Polish city of Wroclaw due to the ongoing war at home following Russia’s invasion of the country. They are in a tussle with European champions Italy to take the group’s second automatic qualification spot. Ukraine come into the game with six points from three games, while Italy – who take on North Macedonia later tonight – have three points from two fixtures so far. Follow all the latest from Ukraine vs England below. Read More Harry Kane admits it ‘hurt’ watching England peers win titles while Tottenham toiled Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham is one of a kind, says England manager Gareth Southgate

Hello. The death toll from the earthquake in Morocco near the tourist hub of Marrakech has risen to