Gareth Maher

 

The Republic of Ireland will face France in the play-offs for the 2010 World Cup and Giovanni Trapattoni’s team could cause a major upset by beating the former world champions.

Raymond Domench will have winced when he saw that his team were drawn against Ireland for their last chance to book a place in South Africa. A trip to Dublin will be followed by a deciding game in front of a demanding Parisian crowd against a team that have proved to be difficult to break down.

Trapattoni has led his team through qualifying unbeaten with four wins and six draws from their ten games, so facing a French side that have struggled to find a rhythm to their play will not phase the 70-year-old Italian. It is the French boss that has more reason to worry.

“These games are like cup finals. We have come through the qualification group and are one of only five teams in Europe with an unbeaten record,” said Trapattoni on reaction to the play-off draw.

“We have done well so far, but over the 180 minutes, we must give something additional, and we will have to be even more concentrated and focused than we have been until now.

“We face the 2006 World Cup finalists and our results to date will give us the conviction and the belief that we can get a result.”

Before the qualifying campaign kicked off, most Irish supporters would have been content with their team just being able to compete against the other nations in Group 8. Now that it is over, they are more than satisfied with what has been achieved.

Under the stewardship of Steve Staunton the team had sunk to its lowest ebb in modern times. A change needed to happen – not just with the management, but with the entire mentality associated with the team. That has certainly happened with Trapattoni introducing a sense of professionalism that has served them well.

No longer do players drop out of the squad citing injuries or the supposed death of a relative in order to avoid a ‘meaningless’ game. And when the players do meet up for squad training in Malahide, there are no complaints about missing equipment, lack of organisation, or that they are expected to work hard. Under this management team there is no chance of the bust-up that marred preparations for the 2002 World Cup happening.

Added to all of that is the fact that Ireland now go into games believing that they can win. This is a huge change in mindset compared to the two previous regimes under Staunton and Brian Kerr. Trapattoni has set high expectations for this team. He wants to win. He convinces his players that they are good enough to win. And while he doesn’t boast a 100 per cent record, he has guided the team through qualifying without losing a single game.

Whether it was earning a 1-1 draw in Sofia against Bulgaria, beating Georgia at a time when their country was being invaded by the Russian army, or twice holding world champions Italy to a draw, this Irish team has proved that they are a force to be reckoned with. Or at the very least, difficult to play against.

Domenech is fully aware of this, so it is of no surprise that he is remaining cautious ahead of the two teams meeting. With the pressure mounting on him from the French media and supporters, he knows that his team will have to play at their very best if they are to qualify for next summer’s main event.

“We know what we have to do. It’s Ireland and we just have to get on with it,” said Domenech.

“The advantage is that we all know the team, it’s like another team. They all play in the English league, so there won’t be too many surprises.

"Their team haven’t lost a match in qualifying. With most of their players in the Premier League, they’re quite a solid team. But so are we."

From an Irish perspective, the thinking is that France are a tough opponent to draw, although they are quite beatable. Calls for Trapattoni to call up Sunderland midfielder Andy Reid have grown louder but fallen on deaf ears. However, with confidence growing following an impressive qualifying campaign, Ireland are not as nervous about this play-off as they normally would be.

There is also little chance that Trapattoni will underestimate Les Bleus.

The critics have started to point to the rigid 4-4-2 formation that Trapattoni refuses to budge from and say that he is devoid of a Plan B. Plus, with the statistics showing that his side played more long balls forward than any other European team in this qualifying campaign, they have been accused of being too predictable at times. However, the unbeaten run in qualifying indicates that progress has been made and that he is doing something right.

So with Trapattoni using all of his vast experience to transform Ireland into a tough team to break down and the Irish supporters on a high following their recent results, all of the signs point to this play-off being the one that France wanted to avoid. Now that the two will face each other, there is nowhere to hide for Domenech.

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