 Shay Given
Only Germany, Spain, Italy, and Holland achieved the same feat and each of those will be expected to challenge for the trophy in South Africa next year. Ireland might not be tagged as one of the favourites, especially since they have yet to qualify, but are in good company with the other nations that went unbeaten.
A lot has been said over the course of the qualifying campaign about this Irish team and the manager, but no matter how limited some think they are or how 'shameful' some of their performances appear to be, they have still gone ten games without losing.
Add to that the fact that they are now going into the Play-Offs as the most tricky side in the bottom seeding pile. All of the top seeded nations will want to avoid Ireland, because they know how difficult Giovanni Trapattoni's team are to break down.
Holding no fear
Even though they went unbeaten it does not mean that Ireland are suddenly a fantastic team that will sweep through the Play-Offs and swat away any big country that attempts to stop them from reaching the World Cup.
As highlighted in previous blog posts, there are plenty of areas that need to be worked on ahead of those two games next month. And the final qualifying game against Montenegro hammered that fact home.
However, the Irish squad should hold no fear if they are paired with Portugal, France, or Russia. They just need to focus on winning two games of football, not trying to prove anything else......just go out and win.
The aforementioned trio are not as strong as they have been in recent years, but it would be quite foolish for anyone to underestimate them - something that Trapattoni will ensure does not happen.
The qualifying campaign has proved that Ireland can play some good football and raise their game against someone like Italy. So there is no reason for them to be fearful going into the Play-Offs.
New faces are welcome additions
When Trapattoni took over the job he knew that some new players needed to be introduced to his squad. After inviting 30 players out to a training camp in Portugal, he has kept faith with many players that never previously popped up on the radar of the average fan.
Not all of them were in Portugal for that camp, but the likes of Kieren Westwood, Sean St Ledger, Eddie Nolan, Liam Lawrence, Glenn Whelan, Keith Andrews, Martin Rowlands, Leon Best, and Caleb Folan can now consider themselves squad members.
Westwood, Rowlands and Nolan are probably the only three from that list that are still hanging on the edge of the squad as back-up. The others are all pushing for starting spots with St Ledger, Whelan, and Andrews all regular starters now.
By introducing these new faces, Trapattoni has brought competition for places and options for each position. Okay, so they are not household names and none of them will be in contention for the Ballon d'Or anytime soon, but that is not the point.
These players work hard as part of a team. Their input allows Ireland to play the way that the manager wants them to. Without them, Ireland would still be in the shadows of international football, where they were left by the previous manager. The only thing 'shameful' about this Irish team is the fact that not everyone recognises how hard they work and how far they can go. | |