Martin O’Neill Names Messi, Ronaldo & Iniesta In Ireland Squad To Face Bosnia

IRELAND manager Martin O’Neill has come under criticism from Bosnia manager Mehmed Baždarević for O’Neill’s inclusion of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta in the Ireland squad for their upcoming games against the Balkan nation.

Conversely, he has been hailed as a tactical genius by Irish fans after the three famous footballers remarkably accepted the call ups.

“Ah, come on. What does he expect me to do? We’re shite,” O’Neill explained at the unveiling of the 39-man squad to face Bosnia in the playoffs for Euro 2016.

O’Neill denied the decision to call the world’s most exceptional players was a result of Ireland’s continued mediocrity.

“Look it, I didn’t expect them to say yes. I’m guessing the kick offs don’t clash with the X Factor. I sent out the texts after a few glasses of wine, but the Bosnian lad is just jealous because he didn’t think of it before me,” the Derryman told WWN.

The former Sunderland and Aston Villa manager admitted that starting Messi and Ronaldo up front might be an improvement on current options, but his faith in his regular call ups remains.

“We tried calling up Irish lads, English lads, Scottish lads and that worked well for a while, but this new direction might work out for us now, but they’ll have to prove they’re better than Daryl Murphy and the lads,” O’Neill concluded.