Callum Robinson or David McGoldrick? Is there a role for Preston North End frontman? Some big dilemmas for Mick McCarthy

But after opening their campaign with narrow victories over Gibraltar and Georgia in March, sterner tests lie ahead, with the Danes familiar foes after four previous meetings inside the last 18 months.

Here, we look at some of the talking points surrounding the game at the Telia Parken Stadium.

The Gold-en boy or PNE’s hitman Robbo?

The Republic have been crying out for a goalscorer since Robbie Keane hung up his boots in August 2016. With Shane Long injured, could it be PNE’s Callum Robinson or perhaps David McGoldrick who McCarthy turns to, after the latter starred in victories over Gibraltar and Georgia?

Right old battle

It is McCarthy’s misfortune to have perhaps his two most effective Premier League players fighting for the same right-back position. Skipper Seamus Coleman has made the spot his own but Matt Doherty starred for Wolves as a right-wing-back this season, and the manager understandably wants to get both men into his team if possible. By his own admission, playing the pair on the right in Gibraltar did not work, so either leaving one out, or finding the best way to accommodate both represents one of his biggest decisions.

Role for Robbie?

Robbie Brady returned from the Euro 2016 finals in France after establishing himself as a genuine senior international but the going since has been significantly tougher. Injuries and a lack of form have led to a reduced role for club Burnley in recent months, and while his set-piece delivery is one of Ireland’s most potent weapons, his place in the starting XI is far from guaranteed.

Evergreen Glenn

Glenn Whelan needed no second invitation when McCarthy called him to ask if he had retired from international football. A stalwart of 86 caps, his days in the green jersey looked to have drawn to a close when Martin O’Neill seemingly handed him a farewell appearance against Northern Ireland in November last year but he is back in the fold and ready to fight for a place in McCarthy’s engine room. Despite his recent release by Aston Villa in the wake of their return to the Premier League, he has every chance of starting.

Misery in Madrid

Much of the talk in the run-up to the game has centred around Denmark’s mercurial midfielder Christian Eriksen and how much of a toll Saturday night’s Champions League final defeat by Liverpool will have taken on the Tottenham playmaker. McCarthy, however insisted what happened in Madrid will be irrelevant and he expects the man who famously scored a World Cup play-off hat-trick in Dublin in November 2017 to be as dangerous as ever.