The second Mick McCarthy era for the Republic of Ireland begins today on an artificial pitch in the modest surrounds of the 2,300-capacity Victoria Stadium, which is situated next to Gibraltar's airport.
After a miserable end to his six-year spell at Ipswich, the 60-year-old returned to the role he previously held between 1996-2002 - achieving a last-16 World Cup berth in South Korea and Japan - in November following the departure of Martin O'Neill, which came in the aftermath of a difficult run in 2018 and Nations League relegation.
McCarthy will be confident of a positive start to Euro 2020 qualifying against Group D minnows Gibraltar, who suffered heavy defeats to Armenia and Macedonia in November.
However, the world's 194th-ranked team did beat Latvia in a friendly last year before recording their maiden competitive victories over Armenia and Liechtenstein.
Prediction
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