Chiedozie Ogbene threw any faux caution out the window and laid things out as plainly as possible for the Republic of Ireland ahead of Monday's clash with France: "If you're not confident there's no point in showing up."

France wiped the floor with the Netherlands in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier in Paris on Friday night.

The beaten World Cup finalists utterly dismantled a Dutch side that lost five players to illness in the build-up - Cody Gakpo, Matthijs de Ligt, Sven Botman, Joey Veerman and Bart Verbruggen.

Still, they possessed plenty of quality at the Stade de France and yet their hosts cut through them at will in a sizzling performance.

Ogbene acknowledged Didier Deschamps' men are a frighteningly good outfit, but he's staying positive ahead of the sold-out clash at the Aviva Stadium.

"I really like Ev. I think he plays like a player who already had many caps under his belt, he is very mature."

"You have to be confident," he said. "I see the way we train, the way we prepare, we have to be confident. If you are not confident there is no point in showing up. As I said, we are preparing to win the game, we are not going out there to try and stay in the game or draw the game, we are preparing to win.

"When you have that mentality, you know how football can be. It's unpredictable, you never know what can happen."

Ogbene scored the winner off the bench against Latvia on Wednesday, his fourth international goal in 14 appearances.

He linked up impressively with another substitute, the twinkle-toed Mikey Johnston, while also dovetailing nicely with man of the moment Evan Ferguson. Ogbene has a real chance of getting the nod ahead of Michael Obafemi to play off Ferguson at Lansdowne Road; and it's an opportunity he'd savour.

"Evan is a fantastic player," he said. "I have said many times, I really like Ev. I think he plays like a player who already had many caps under his belt, he is very mature.

"Is he 18? For an 18-year old his hold-up play is very good. He is physically strong. As a No. 9 if your hold-up play is good it allows your wingers and No. 10, if you want to call them that, to make runs and hold a run and that is something he does very well.

"It does help the team massively, especially when we need an out.

"My attributes are to stretch the pitch and his are to manage it and get the midfielders up the pitch. That's what I notice when I am around him and it allows me to calculate my runs a bit more.

"He has an eye for goal. You can see he is in the box every time and that physical presence will attract defenders towards him and maybe leave space for me at the back post.

"This game on Monday is to win and whatever gameplan we set up is just to win and sometimes players will be disappointed. My opinion is no one has merited a start, everything is up for grabs and I am sure if the gaffer picks a team, he knows and the players should understand it is primarily to win the game."

Ogbene has thrived under Stephen Kenny over the last two years. The former Cork City and Limerick man is currently at Championship side Rotherham United but his contract is up in the summer and there'll be no shortage of suitors should he decide to move on.

Now 25, the winger admits pulling on the green jersey is still a surreal experience that he does not take for granted.

"Honestly it's unbelievable," Ogbene added. "Football is unpredictable, you have to take every day as it comes.

"Last year [Rotherham] were in League One. I'm very ambitious. You just have to live in the moment and enjoy it as it comes, as it comes very quick. By the time you realise it you'll be retiring any time soon. It has been an unbelievable journey and I hope I can continue on this platform and push for higher heights.

"I have a lot of people coming up to the game, all my family and close friends. It will mean a lot to me to be on that pitch. I would be really honoured to be part of the team on Monday to battle it out with France.

"I don't want to say too much about it, I know it's a big game but I want to stay focused and just live the moment, go into Monday and carry out the game plan we have."

Watch Republic of Ireland v France in Euro 2024 qualifying on Monday from 7pm live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on 2fm's Game On