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1st September 2016
08:37am BST

McCarthy seemed to be carrying a strain during Euro 2016 and had two poor games against Sweden and Belgium. Instead of dropping him, O'Neill benched Whelan and backed McCarthy in the anchor role. He did not disappoint.
It is a shame, then, that Ireland must revert to Whelan as the holding midfielder but supporters can be assured that the Stoke man will give it his all during a daunting away date.
There was better injury news, though. O'Neill is confident Seamus Coleman should be able to feature against the Serbs while Brady and Walters picked up no more than knocks and should be good to go.
The new GAA Hour football podcast is here. Listen to Colm Parkinson, Senan Connell, and Barry Cahill dissect a classic between Dublin and Kerry. Subscribe here on iTunes.
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