Live

LIVE: OTB Breakfast

07:30 AM-10:00 AM

LIVE: OTB Breakfast
Advertisement
Soccer

Kenny Cunningham on Ireland "shying away" from the diamond and adjusting Robbie Brady's role

Kenny Cunningham feels a move away from the diamond midfield formation may be the best game-plan ...



Kenny Cunningham on Ireland &#...
Soccer

Kenny Cunningham on Ireland "shying away" from the diamond and adjusting Robbie Brady's role

Kenny Cunningham feels a move away from the diamond midfield formation may be the best game-plan for Ireland in their second Euro 2016 fixture against Belgium.

The diamond formation worked for the most part in the 1-1 draw with Sweden, while Italy exposed Belgium's weaknesses last night.

Speaking to Off The Ball tonight, Kenny feels a move to the 4-5-1 could be the best way of setting up against Belgium on Saturday.

"Things went so well for us [against Sweden], the obvious thing would be maybe to keep the diamond system and maybe a straight swap for Jonathan Walters, whether it be Daryl Murphy or Robbie Keane playing up front. Personally, myself, I wouldn't. I'd shy away from it and look towards more of the 4-5-1 with the central striker Shane Long," said Kenny.

The former Ireland defender would also like to see Robbie Brady further up the field from left-back after an outstanding performance in Paris.

"Every time he gets to the edge of that opposition box, something happens. Every time I see that I think to myself can we get him a bit higher up the pitch? Can we get his starting position 20 yards higher? I feel that as well as he's playing for us at left-back, I just feel his creativity and his invention and his quality high up the pitch, it's something that could be a huge asset to us."

He also picked out what Ireland did well - and not so well - tactically against Sweden:

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Soccer