Nerves and nails under pressure Dublin

November 14, 2009

There is a buzz beginning to grow in Dublin and indeed across the whole country of Ireland in anticipation of the momentous game against France tonight in Croke Park tonight.

The first leg of the play-off encounter which will ultimately see one of the teams reach the promised land of qualification for next summer’s World Cup Finals.

In has been a rather quiet week of build up from an Irish squad selection point of view. The withdrawals of Liam Miller and Shane Long, who in all honesty were never going to be selected for the team, were the only points of note to make. Their withdrawals were so minor in fact, that no replacements were deemed necessary.

As the familiar squad winds down their preparations, Giovanni Trappatoni has all but named his starting XI for the game. The only place up for grabs is the berth on the right wing, which has come down to a straight fight between Stoke City’s Liam Lawrence and Celtic’s Aiden McGeady.

Both have put forward good cases for inclusion in the recent games. Lawrence has a physical presence and good set ball delivery skills, while McGeady is pacy and creative while his ability to draw free kicks from opposing defenders in and around the danger areas cannot be ignored either.

And lets not forget, Ireland have scored 8 of their 12 goals in the qualifying campaign directly from set pieces, while France have conceded 6 of their 9 goals they in the exact same manner. Whatever way the decision goes however, it is unlikely to be known until shortly before the 8pm kick off.

The comments emanating from both camps this week have been a lot more honest and open than the usual clichés that usually go hand in hand for games of this stature.

Irish defender Richard Dunne admitted that he will not be happy unless he has to crawl off the pitch having given his all for the team, whilst also admitting that every single one of the eleven men on the field will have to fight for each other to the very last second.

Both he and Giovanni Trappatoni have stated that although the team has performed relatively well in qualifying, this game requires everyone raises their performances to the very maximum.

In yesterday’s press conference, where Mr Trappatoni appeared in a relaxed and jovial mood greeted the assembled media in both English and French.

In a nod to the small gathering of French journalists present, Don Giovanni confidently took his place at the microphone by saying “Good Afternoon” closely followed by “Bonsoir a les Français”, to a welcome acknowledgement from visiting delegation.

However he then continued by saying, “I am sorry I do no speak French..” followed by a brief pause before delivering the punch line “….I also do not speak English.” All said with his now familiar mischievous grin and greeted by a warm burst of laughter from packed room of media correspondents.

Whilst Trappatoni and the Irish dressing room appears harmonious and relaxed, it is stark contrast to his opposing number Raymond Domenech.

Much has been made of the players apparently open lack of respect for him, while the French press have also made no secret of their dislike of the man who famously proposed to his girlfriend live on French TV just hours after France had been eliminated from their disastrous Euro 2008 campaign.

However, dis-harmonies and quarrels aside, there is no doubting the quality of the French squad that will be at Domenech’s disposal. Henry, Benzema, Diarra, Evra are only four star players in the squad that also has star winger Franck Ribery out injured, David Trezuguet and Robert Pires are not selected because of their zodiac signs…yes that’s right, their zodiac signs, while also having the liberty of leaving influential midfielder Patrick Viera out of the squad for no apparent reason.

All of which gives an insight into both the riches and the madness of the current French squad selection system.

However, the simple facts are that a minimum of 180 minutes of football separates either team from World Cup qualification. There is always the possibility for a further 30 minutes of extra time plus the dreaded penalty shoot out if the teams cannot be separated by that point.

Whatever happens, these two games will be tense affairs and one senses that there will no be many goals or even much separating them come the final whistle in Paris on Wednesday night.

And so, as Dublin gets ready to host its’ most important game in 8 years, fans from all over Ireland will be anxiously watching as the drama unfolds. One imagines that the normally busy streets of Saturday night revellers and party goers throughout the country will be a lot quieter tonight.

In fact if you listen hard you might just hear the collective sound of 4 million people move closer to the edge of their seats as their nerves become wracked and their nails are bitten to the finest milimeter of safety. This is what it’s all about……..Ladies and Gentlemen…..let the fun and games commence!

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