World Cup qualifier: Republic all set to face Ronaldo's Portugal in Dublin
Last updated 11th Nov 2021
The Republic are preparing to face Portugal in the penultimate game of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
The two sides meet tonight (Thursday) at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Superstar skipper Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to lead the line again for the visitors but Man City's Bernardo Silva is ruled out.
Kenny believes his side is improving all the time and is in confident mood.
"We're at home and we have a lot of good players ourselves," he said. "We are evolving - you can see the progression of the team - you can see the team evolving in front of your eyes every time we play ... we're excited by the game."
He is also urging the players to bring "calm'' and "intelligence'' to their play
When the two sides met in Portugal in September, the Republic led 1-0 with a minute of normal time remaining - but lost 2-1 thanks to a Ronaldo double.
It will be a full house at the Aviva - the first time that has been allowed under Covid restrictions since the manager took charge.
Kenny says his team cannot afford to be carried away by what is certain to be a lively atmosphere.
He said: "It is important that we bring calm to our play and bring a level of composure to our play. We need to have that element of calm in our play even when we are pressed high.
"Portugal will press us high because they are actually very good at that. Regardless, we must have the courage to play out. We must not be fearful in that regard.
"We can bring calm to our play and ensure that we give ourselves the option that whoever is in possession, that they have the required number of options.
"Your movement off the ball has to be of a high level. You have to play with intelligence and try to have some sort of control on the game. Hopefully we can get a cutting edge after that.
"We have to earn the right to do that first and establish some sort of control.''
The Republic who have an injury concern over defender Andrew Omobamidele, go into the Group A fixture with their qualification hopes over and already casting an eye towards the forthcoming Nations League and Euro 2024 campaigns.