Ireland will be playing in League B in the Nations League next time out after avoiding defeat today, but their wait for a victory under Kenny goes on as they are now winless in eight games. As for Bulgaria, they'll be playing in League C next time after failing to win any of their games in the competition this season.
Bulgaria are relegated from League B after a goalless draw with the Republic of Ireland. It was a game of few chances, with the only shot on target coming in the first half when Iliev's low shot was saved by Randolph. Ireland improved in the second half and Brady came close when his long-range shot bounced off the crossbar.
90' + 6' FULL-TIME: REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 0-0 BULGARIA.
90' + 4' Malinov does well to hold off Christie on the right of the box and he floats a good cross into the middle. None of his team-mates are up with him in support though and it's an easy clearance for O'Shea.
90' + 2' Randolph almost plays himself into trouble again as he takes too long to clear his lines. Kraev is quick to close him down and the goalkeeper pulls the ball away from him just in time.
90' Ireland are pushing for a late goal and are keeping Bulgaria penned back in their own half. Byrne swings a good cross into the box from the right, but he can't pick out Parrott in the middle.
88' Maguire pulls away from Popov and lifts a good cross into the middle of the box. Parrott is running onto it at the far post, but Angelov gets there just ahead of him to head it out for a corner.
T. Parrott
R. Curtis
86' There's a triple change for Ireland now and Curtis is the first to make way for Parrott.
C. Christie
R. Manning
86' And Manning also comes off after receiving treatment, with Christie on in his place.
S. Maguire
J. Collins
85' Collins is also taken off, with Maguire replacing him.
83' Manning has gone down off the ball for Ireland now and it looks like he's struggling with cramp. The medical team comes on to give him some treatment and it looks like Kenny is getting a replacement ready for him.
D. Aleksandrov
D. Iliev
81' Another change for Bulgaria now and it's Aleksandrov coming on for Iliev.
80' It's a brilliant cross into the box from Cullen and Dimitrov misses his clearance at the near post. Collins is running onto it in the middle, but it's just out of his reach, and Curtis can't get a touch at the far post.
J. Byrne
R. Brady
78' Brady went down holding his hamstring and goes straight off the field after receiving some treatment. Byrne comes on in his place.
76' Ireland just can't get out of their own half at the moment as Bulgaria push forward again. Long clears the cross from Karagaren this time and Iliev puts the ball back into the box, only to see this one blocked by Manning.
74' Another corner is swung into the box for Bulgaria but it's Duffy who meets it and clears his lines. Cullen collects it but is being closed down by Vasilev, who fouls him in his attempts to win the ball.
72' Bulgaria are pushing high upfield now and keeping Ireland penned deep in their own half. Iliev pushes forward through the middle before laying it off to Kovachev, but his cross is deflected out for a corner.
70' Kovachev swings a deep cross into the box which is cleared by O'Shea, but his header falls to Iliev. He pulls away from Hourihane before setting himself for the shot, but it's nicked off him by Long.
68' OFF THE BAR! Brady turns away from his defender outside the box and curls a powerful shot towards the top-left corner. Lukov is beaten and turns to watch it bounce back off the crossbar.
J. Cullen
D. Horgan
67' First change for Ireland now and it's Cullen coming on to replace Horgan.
66' GREAT BLOCK! Kraev finds himself in space when the corner is swung into the box and he has time to take a touch before hitting his shot at the far post. Duffy gets an important touch on it to take it just wide.
65' It's well worked upfield by Bulgaria with a series of one-touch passes and Vasilev cuts it back to Kraev on the edge of the box. He hits his shot and it takes two deflections off Ireland defenders before going wide.
63' Vasilev has a lot of space to run into down the left and he takes it to the byline before trying to put a low cross into the box. Duffy spotted it though and gets across to block it and give away a corner.
S. Kovachev
S. Delev
61' And Delev is also taken off, with Kovachev replacing him.
B. Karagaren
G. Ivanov
60' Triple change for Bulgaria now and Ivanov is the first to make way for Karagaren.
A. Vasilev
Cicinho
60' Cicinho is also taken off, with Vasilev on in his place.
59' Delev's cross into the box is blocked by O'Shea before it gets through to Cicinho, but his header goes straight to Kraev at the near post. He hits the shot on the volley but fires his shot high over the crossbar.
57' Randolph gets lucky as he misses the ball when he goes to make his clearance before knocking it closer to goal. He's closed down by Kraev, but he just manages to clear his lines before the forward gets onto it.
55' It's sloppy from Bulgaria with Knight latching onto a loose pass. He picks out Curtis in the middle of the box in space, but it's a poor attempt from him as he fires his shot high over the bar.
54' CLOSE! O'Shea whips another good cross into the box from the right and Collins hits his shot first time on the volley at the near post. Lukov is beaten but it flies just wide of the target.
52' Kraev has dropped deep into his own half to pick up the ball and he makes a weaving run to the edge of Ireland's box before laying it off to Delev. He swings a cross into the middle, but Duffy clears his lines.
50' It's another good run from Popov down the right after he wins the ball back and he pulls away from Manning to whip a cross into the middle. He's looking for Kraev, but Randolph comes off his line to collect it.
48' Bulgaria are struggling to get on the ball at the moment as Ireland continue to pass it around in their own half. It's patient from the home side as they try to find a way in behind Bulgaria.
46' Ireland make a quick start to the second half as O'Shea swings a good cross into the box from the right. He picks out Collins in the middle of the box, but he heads his effort over the bar.
46' Ireland get us back under way for the second half!
As it stands, Bulgaria are going to be relegated, but they created some good chances for themselves in the first half, they just need to be more clinical. Ireland have been sloppy with their passing in their own half at times, gifting chances to the visitors and Kenny will want to see a better performance from them after the break.
It's goalless at the break between Ireland and Bulgaria. The visitors had the only shot on target in the first half when Iliev's low shot was stopped by Randolph. Dimitrov also came close with a header from a corner, but it was too high, while Collins headed over from close range at the other end.
45' + 1' HALF-TIME: REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 0-0 BULGARIA.
G. Ivanov
Yellow Card
45' Ivanov picks up a booking after sliding in late on O'Shea.
43' Tsvetkov wins the ball back for Bulgaria and looks to set Delev on the attack down the right. It's a poor first touch from him though and Manning comes across to dispossess him.
41' Ireland are happy to just keep the ball in their own half of the field at the moment as Bulgaria drop deep and close down the space. It's patient play from the home side and they're in no hurry to push forward.
39' GOOD CHANCE! Curtis pulls away from Cicinho on the right again and floats a cross to the far post. Collins meets it and heads it towards goal, but it loops just over the bar and onto the roof of the net.
37' Brady takes a free-kick for Ireland on the right this time and he's looking to pick out Collins at the near post. Popov gets there first, but his header is going in and Lukov has to push it away.
35' GOOD CHANCE! Another corner is swung into the box by Iliev and it's Dimitrov that rises highest in the middle to meet it. He flicks it towards goal, but his header is just over the bar and lands on the roof of the net.
33' Ivanov times his run perfectly to stay onside as he runs onto Tsvetkov's throughball into the right of the box. His first touch is heavy though which gives Manning chance to get back and shepherd it to Randolph.
31' Curtis pulls away from Cicinho on the right again for Ireland and sends a looping cross into the box towards Collins. He's got Dimitrov with him though and the defender rises highest to clear his lines.
Cicinho
Yellow Card
29' It's a late one by Cicinho as he kicks the back of Curtis' heels after he lays the ball off and he's given a booking.
27' SAVE! It's another poor pass from Ireland as this time Knight gives the ball away to Iliev. He takes it to the edge of the box before hitting his low shot towards goal, but Randolph gets down quickly to deny him.
25' Ireland are struggling to get out of their own half at the moment with Bulgaria closing them down higher up the field now. Brady tries to look long for Curtis on the right, but his throughball is cut out.
23' It's a loose pass by Long on the edge of Ireland's box and he gifts the ball to Kraev. He takes a touch before drilling a shot on goal, but Duffy makes a brilliant block to deflect it.
R. Manning
Yellow Card
21' Manning slides in late on Delev, completely missing the ball, and is shown a yellow card by the referee.
19' Popov swings another great cross into the box from the right and Cicinho is running onto it at the far post. O'Shea heads it clear just ahead of him and ends up winning a free-kick when the left-back crashes into him.
17' GOOD CHANCE! Curtis does brilliantly to hold off Cicinho on the right and whip a cross into the six-yard box. Lukov is beaten and Collins is running onto it at the far post, but he can't get the touch he needs to see it across the line.
15' Bulgaria switch play from left to right and Iliev picks out Popov in a lot of space on the right. He swings a cross into the box towards Kraev, but Manning gets back in time to block it.
13' Bulgaria are enjoying a good spell of possession at the moment with Delev finding space to run into down the right. He loses the ball to Hourihane though and Malinov fouls him in his attempts to win it back.
K. Long
Yellow Card
11' Long picks up the first yellow card of the game after he catches Iliev in the face during an aerial challenge.
10' Bulgaria are looking to record their first-ever away victory against Ireland, having drawn three and lost three of their previous six. Their last away trip there ended in a 3-1 friendly defeat in September 2019.
8' It's a brilliant throughball from Brady in his own half to pick out Manning's run down the left and he catches up to it near the byline. He swings a cross into the box, but he'd run it out of play.
6' Ireland have a free-kick on the left and Brady swings a good, deep cross into the far post. Collins and Horgan are both running onto it, but neither can make contact, and the chance goes to waste.
4' Ireland are patiently playing out from the back and making good progress upfield through Curtis on the right. He curls a cross into the middle of the box, but it's over Collins' head and Popov is happy to see it out of play.
2' Cicinho wins the ball back for Bulgaria on the left and makes a driving run to the box. He squares it to Kraev in the middle of the box and he hits the shot first time, but it's a good block from Duffy.
1' Kraev gets the game under way for Bulgaria!
The teams are out on the pitch, with kick-off just moments away.
Kenny has failed to win any of his opening seven matches with Ireland (D3 L4). He's the first manager to do so since Mick McCarthy in 1996, who then won his eighth match in charge.
Georgi Dermendzhiev makes four changes to his team after their loss to Finland, with Angelov, Cicinho, Tsvetkov and Iliev coming in. He's without Vasil Bozhikov and Dimitar Velkovski after they also returned positive coronavirus tests, while Yankov is on the bench.
Stephen Kenny makes five enforced changes to the side that lost to Wales, bringing in Manning, Knight, Hourihane, Curtis and Collins. Jeff Hendrick and Jayson Molumby are suspended, Adam Idah is injured and James McClean and Matt Doherty are unavailable after returning positive coronavirus tests.
SUBS: Birsent Karagaren, Dominik Yankov, Ivan Karadzhov, Radoslav Terziev, Svetoslav Kovachev, Yanis Karabelyov, Denislav Aleksandrov, Serkan Yusein, Aleksandar Vasilev.
BULGARIA (4-2-3-1): Martin Lukov; Strahil Popov, Kristian Dimitrov, Georgi Angelov, Cicinho; Kristiyan Malinov, Aleksandar Tsvetkov; Spas Delev, Dimitar Iliev, Galin Ivanov; Bozhidar Kraev.
SUBS: Darragh Lenihan, Aaron McEneff, Josh Cullen, Sean Maguire, Mark Travers, Cyrus Christie, Graham Burke, Jack Taylor, Jack Byrne, Caoimhin Kelleher, Ciaran Clark, Troy Parrott.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (4-3-3): Darren Randolph; Dara O'Shea, Shane Duffy, Kevin Long, Ryan Manning; Jason Knight, Conor Hourihane, Robbie Brady; Daryl Horgan, James Collins, Ronan Curtis.
This is a big game for both sides if they want to avoid being relegated into League C for the next Nations League competition. For Ireland, they need to avoid defeat in order to stay up after failing to win any of their five games this season (D2 L3). As for Bulgaria, this is a must-win game for them if they want to avoid going down, with their only point coming against Ireland after a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture (L4).
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the UEFA Nations League Group B4 meeting between the Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium!
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