Irish face uphill battle to qualify
 The
draw could have been worse but boy, it could have been better too.
As Steve Staunton grinned in front of the waiting media in Montreux, Switzerland
the new Irish manager knew the realistic aim of his tenure would be qualification
for the World Cup in 2010 and that any good results he could muster in
the European Championship qualifiers were a bonus.
At the time we didn’t know how good the German side were, indeed
just two months after the draw Germany were defeated 4-1 by Italy in Florence
and so optimistic Irish supporters may have believed we got off lightly.
However, after a World Cup in which Germany were fantastic, the penny
dropped they’re miles better than us!
Second seeds the Czech Republic also come with a strong pedigree and have
a habit of qualifying for major tournaments at a canter, running up big
scores along the way. A poor World Cup in which they failed to progress
from their group will have dented confidence but the Czechs are still
a high-quality side with stars such as Arsenal’s Tomas Rosicky and
strikers Jan Koller and Milan Baros ready to give Stan’s men a headache
or two.
The Irish manager will be keeping his fingers crossed that the Czechs
drop points to neighbours Slovakia who also pose a real threat to Ireland.
As the country’s top club Artmedia Bratislava continue to prosper
in European football, so too do the national team.
The highlight of the group for Irish fans will come on March 24 when the
Republic face Wales in Croke Park. though it may be one of few highlights
in a difficult qualifying group.
However the top two teams qualify for Austria/Switzerland so maybe, just
maybe, Stan and the boys can do enough to get us through to what would
be just our second European Championship finals. |
