'Nothing to lose' in last shot at glory
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WHEN the final whistle sounds at the Stade de France tonight, the Irish mood will be determined by cold, hard facts. Not hope or belief or any of the other buzz words that they have spoken of throughout this World Cup campaign.
Tomorrow, they will either have everything or nothing to look forward to. Giovanni Trapattoni arrived on a lucrative contract where the stated mission was to take Ireland to South Africa. Whatever happens, there has patently been a progression. It is hysterical to suggest otherwise. But the experiment and the outlay was always about the endgame.
That's why it's so galling for Trapattoni's side to find themselves in a situation where the odds are so heavily stacked against them. Irish visitors to France searching for a miracle normally head to Lourdes rather than the Stade de France.
The 70-year-old has pointed out that, after encountering the 2006 champions Italy in the qualifying group, drawing the runners up in the play-off was a harsh outcome. Ill-feeling lingers over FIFA's goalpost shifting with the seedings draw but skipper Robbie Keane was honest enough yesterday to admit that excuses will provide no solace if they don't turn around a deficit this evening.
expectant
The obvious improvements, like the markedly more assured displays on foreign soil, will be rendered obsolete if they are unable to raise that bar in front of an expectant Parisien crowd which is expected to be infiltrated by 15,000 Irish fans.
"The performances away have been good and it's been a decent campaign but it will mean nothing if we don't produce it here," said Keane. "We're in this campaign to be in the World Cup and this game will decide that."
"We know there's a massive carrot dangling in front of us and we know the job that we have to do."
The Dubliner, who turns 30 next July, was honest enough to acknowledge that it could be his last chance to return to the greatest stage the game has to offer and he's not alone in a dressing-room where the leading players are all in or around the same age.
In that context, there is no shortage of desire and, indeed, a healthy degree of confidence even if it may not be shared outside the dressing-room.
Remarkably, no team has ever won a World Cup play-off after losing the first leg at home. A global statistic to add to the personal hurdles which Ireland have to overcome. Twenty-two years since a meaningful competitive away victory. Eight years without success against a higher-ranked side. In short, there is no logical rationale to suggest the visitors can turn this around. Instead, they need something illogical to happen. One of those rare surprises that football can sometimes throw up.
"We're professionals," said Keane. "Over the years, we've seen strange results happen. There's another twist in this, I believe that."
There will be no surprises on the teamsheet, though. Trapattoni sticks with the same XI that eventually ran out of steam and fell to Nicolas Anelka's deflected strike at Croke Park which put Les Bleus in the driving seat. Liam Lawrence stays put on the right side of midfield, with Aiden McGeady and Stephen Hunt being kept in reserve.
Keane and Kevin Doyle will face a different challenge with Sevilla centre-half Sebastien Squillaci in line to replace the injured Eric Abidal which will change the complexion of Raymond Domenech's defence.
While Abidal, better known as a full-back at Barcelona, was visibly uncomfortable in the air in Dublin, Squillaci is actually regarded as quite competent in that department but the trade-off is that the 29-year-old is a little bit more susceptible to pace. In addition, he will take the role of right-sided central defender with William Gallas switching to the left, a position which the temperamental Arsenal man dislikes.
As Ireland learned on Saturday, however, it's difficult to trouble the opposition rearguard if you are unable to get bodies into the box. The dilemma this evening is knowing when to take risks.
"I hope that France come out and attack," said Trapattoni, when asked if he expected the hosts to burst out of the blocks with an offensive mind. "They cannot stay back and play like they did sometimes in Dublin. That was a fair tactic because they wanted to achieve the result, but I think they couldn't play the same way at home."
Critics of Trapattoni will grin at references to another team being cautious. For his counter-attacking style to be effective, it's stating the obvious to add that he needs the opposition to be positive. France were cagey on Saturday until Thierry Henry and Anelka made the decision to take some risks.
Ireland may trail, but they need to frustrate the favourites in the opening stages tonight and pray that it plants seeds of doubt. "The pressure is all on them," asserted Keane. "We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Their fans will be expecting them to win and score a couple of goals."
Trapattoni, who incidentally feels Karim Benzema may unship Andre-Pierre Gignac from the French leading striker role, has stressed the benefits of patience. His new phrase for the past fortnight is 'cool head', although it briefly morphed into 'cold heart' yesterday before the mistake was realised.
He avoided direct answers when asked if he would accept if the match was scoreless on the night entering the final stages but tellingly stressed that many top matches now are decided by late goals. Allied with his certainty that it will be a low-scoring affair, then it's safe to assume that he anticipates a tense joust as opposed to a thriller. If parity is retained until the interval -- and that's a big if -- then he must wrestle with when to introduce McGeady.
"We cannot let the time go until the finish without changing anything," he said. "The game is not good if the result doesn't change. It's just about the right balance at the right time."
Barring an unfeasible early salvo, the point will be reached where the natural each-way punter must alter his strategy. The deviation from his previous 11 competitive games is considerable.
"The good thing about football is that after a disappointment, there is another game," he said. "I watched the game from Saturday again and it should have been a draw. We lose the game, but there is another opportunity on the Wednesday."
Alas, the statement is irrelevant if Ireland fall short tonight. In that nightmarish, yet regrettably likely scenario, it will be 10 months until their next game of substance. There are few worse places to be playing games of win or bust.
Verdict: France 1 Ireland 1
- Daniel McDonnell
Irish Independent
