Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson has named his squad as he prepares for the upcoming international break.
The Iceland native has made a total of 11 changes from his last squad four months ago, although some of those changes have been influenced by injuries.
Regardless of personnel coming in and out, the Ireland boss has some ideas for players that have been there a long time, and could see them fulfil different roles.
Nathan Collins looks set to captain his country once again, and against England, the 23 year old was moved from defence into midfield to bring some solidify and experience.
Despite the second half of that game seeing Ireland fall apart, the first half was promising, and the experiment could be a feature in this international break as well.
READ HERE: Wayne Rooney Admits He Would Have Played For Ireland If Not For Strange McCarthy Decision
READ HERE: Heimir Hallgrímsson Names Exciting Ireland Squad For Crucial Bulgaria Playoff
“Yes, I can see that. I think he did really well in the first half. Of course, it was new for him and we could definitely try in the future.
“I think we have a lot of centre backs playing at a high level, so it’s also good to have the best players on the pitch to try something different.
“It’s a good option - gives us another dimension.”
Ireland's upcoming opponents Bulgaria are going through a chaotic period as their manager Ilian Iliev handed in his resignation, but had it rejected.
Despite this, Hallgrímsson is expecting them to be a difficult opponent.
“They have been impressive. In 12 games since Illiev was hired as coach, they have only lost one, and that was a real outlier away to Northern Ireland where they were missing four or five starters.
“It’s going to be a physical battle. They are compact and hard to break down, so that will be a test for us.
“If we exclude that outlier, I think they are 0.6 goals per game conceded so it shows how difficult it is to score against them.”
The game will be played on Sunday week, but the real business of World Cup qualification begins in September. Hungary and Armenia are confirmed but the victor from next week’s Nations League A playoff between Portugal and Denmark will complete the four-team group.
