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Stoke City have made an official approach to the Irish Football Association to appoint Michael O’Neill as their new manager.
The Northern Ireland boss has been in charge at international level for eight years, taking his side to Euro 2016 and being in with a chance of reaching Euro 2020 , too.
Stoke dismissed Nathan Jones at the start of November and sit bottom of the Championship, with just two wins and eight points from their 15 games this season.
O’Neill has yet to manage in the English football league, with his previous club roles coming at Brechin in Scotland and Shamrock Rovers in Ireland. As a player, he featured for the likes of Newcastle, Coventry and Wigan in England.
The IFA have confirmed that Stoke have requested permission to speak to O’Neill and it is understood that discussions are underway regarding compensation amounts.
Show all 31 1 /31Euro 2020 power rankings Euro 2020 power rankings How far will England go? We size up the qualifying candidates for the European Championships so far.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 30. Kosovo If they manage to fall short of the Czechs in Group A, then Kosovo should make the cut through the play-offs. A potential surprise package in the making.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 29. Albania A team with great spirit who, if they make it, can bless the Euros with impressive performances but will be outclassed by the bigger sides.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 28. Northern Ireland After matching Germany in qualification, they are on route to being the underdogs of 2020 and you can expect them to take the opportunity to impress with both hands.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 27. Finland Everyone wants to see Teemu Pukki in the finals. It would be a great accolade for a country with the population of only five million people.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 26. Norway They are challenging to accompany Spain out of Group F, but it doesn’t look likely their claim to be included in the finals will be taken seriously. The play-offs are their only hope.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 25. Iceland Who doesn’t want the famous clap at Euro 2020? They are still defeating the odds, and could sneak their way into 2020 and bring their undying spirit with them.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 24. Hungary Another team on the periphery of qualification. Just making the cut would be a huge achievement.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 23. Czech Republic They are favourites to accompany England out of Group A, but their defensive woes could be exploited if they make it to the finals.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 22. Bosnia & Herzegovina Having never qualified for the Euros, it would be a recreation of the 2014 World Cup if they do end up qualifying. The odds are stacked against them, but they have a solid chance through the play-offs.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 21. Slovenia If they scrape into the finals, it is clear it would only be a result of fortuitously being placed in Group G in qualifying.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 20. Republic of Ireland Martin O’Neil’s men have a chance of reaching the finals in 2020, and if they do I am sure their manager has a defensive masterclass up his sleeve to see them into the knockout stages.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 19. Wales If they get their act together, Wales could imitate their 2016 heroics. However, they have to turn things around quickly in qualifying if they are to do so.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 18. Turkey They always do well against the teams within their remit, but when exposed to quality they crumble. It all depends on who they are matched with in the group stage.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 17. Sweden The post-Ibra era has looked promising as they reached the World Cup quarter-finals, but it clear from qualifying that it was their peak.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 16. Serbia Their mental resolute gives them a chance. They have a few good individuals in their ranks and if they perform they will have a chance of reaching the knockout stages.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 15. Austria They are not stacked with quality but have a blueprint which allows them to do well. They will be a tough opponent to whoever shares a group with them.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 14. Ukraine Another team who thrive off team spirit. They have taken Group B by the scuff of the neck and should repeat more of the same in 2020.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 13. Switzerland They are still to find momentum in qualifying, but if they scrape through their experience trumps their recent form.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 12. Denmark The Danes are not stacked with quality but they do possess a great team spirit which should see them through to the knockout stages.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 11. Poland Lewandowski’s goals will certainly help them along the way, but the lack of quality elsewhere on the field does not see them past the last 16.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 10. Russia The dark horses. They shocked many in the World Cup, and have followed that up with an outstanding qualifying campaign. Don’t be surprised if they do it again.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 9. Croatia Their 2018 heroics seemed to have the sucked the life out of them in qualifying. It would be rare if such feat is replicated in in 2020.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 8. Portugal The defending champions have built on their success by winning the Nations League and you would not rebuff the possibility of them scraping their way to the final again.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 7. Italy The robust defence Italy possess stand them in good stead to go far. It is just the scoring goals part of the game which they need to brush up on.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 6. Netherlands Ronald Koeman has spear headed Holland’s redemption, and any team with van Dijk in their ranks has a chance of winning anything.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 5. Germany After Low’s clear out, Germany’s young squad could follow the Die Mannschaft blueprint of reaching finals if they can recapture that winning formula.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 4. Spain After an embarrassing World Cup, the Spaniards will be looking to show a break from the past in the Euros as a refreshed squad and a new manager will take the competition head on.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 3. Belgium Belgium’s star studded squad will be hoping that their golden generation take their final chance of attaining silverware before age starts to take its toll.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 2. England England find themselves in great shape headlining into 2020. Their stars will be reaching their peak while their young guns will be looking to showcase their raw talent.
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Euro 2020 power rankings 1. France Being World champions, Les Blues head into Euro 2020 being firm favourites with a roster of talent for Didier Deschamps to choose from.
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Stoke have already been denied the chance to appoint Alex Neil by current club Preston, with an approach rejected soon after Jones’ departure.
The Potters were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2017/18 season and finished 16th in the second tier last term.
Northern Ireland face Netherlands and Germany in two Euro 2020 qualifiers across the upcoming international break, for which O’Neill has already named his squad.
Stoke play Barnsley in the Championship on Saturday, before the two-week break.
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