Hello, and welcome to todayโs liveblog.
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Kick off for the games is at 7.45pm.
Weโll have the team news once we get it.
The team is out. The big surprise is that Callum OโDowda startsโฆ
BREAKING: Ciaran Clark named Ireland captain as Martin O'Neill names his team to face Denmark! ๐ฎ๐ช #COYBIG #DENIRL pic.twitter.com/Mt0FgGBiEL
โ FAIreland โฝ๏ธ๐ฎ๐ช (@FAIreland) November 11, 2017
Plenty of pre-match reading for you hereโฆ
- Letter from Copenhagen: After a 15-year wait, Irelandโs time for World Cup return beckons
- Murphy or Long, Christian belief and more Copenhagen talking points
- Martin OโNeill on the cusp of becoming Irelandโs most successful manager since Jack Charlton
- Poll: How do you think Irelandโs World Cup play-off against Denmark will go tonight?
- โPeople will be cursing our luck that Glenn Whelan is coming in but heโs done a job for us beforeโ
- How will Denmark set up against Ireland in tonightโs World Cup play-off?
- Bendtner was unplayable when he set his mind to it while working under OโNeill
- Two years on from the goal that nobody saw, Brady is hoping for another big night in Copenhagen
- Eriksen reckons paying him too much attention could backfire on Ireland
- โHe was a good landlord!โ โ Denmark manager used to rent a house from old friend Martin OโNeill
- Kasper Schmeichel expects to see โthe Roy Keane on-pitch personaโ in the Ireland team
- โIf you were playing Fifa or Football Manager, thereโs no question you would be picking the Danish teamโ
- โI actually think we are the more physical sideโ: Schmeichel unconcerned by Irish toughness
- Irish football fans warned against buying tickets in Danish section
- โHeโs a world-class player and deserves all the credit he getsโ โ Arter on Denmarkโs danger man
- โThere were no women allowed in the crowdโฆ It was the most hostile place Iโve ever played footballโ
Martin OโNeill tells RTร that Robbie Brady will play โmidfieldโ while suggesting OโDowda will play in the 10 role behind Murphy.
He adds that the two of them can โinteractโ and โadjustโ.
Decent bit of art work pic.twitter.com/qZvJCe2Zeh
โ Oliver Holt (@OllieHolt22) November 11, 2017
Denmark have started on the front foot.
The hosts have dominated possession and territory without creating anything yet.
Eriksen bursts forward after Delaney wins the ball.
Christie subsequently does well to stop the Spurs star from shooting.
Ireland have started fairly cautiously.
As I type, all of the visitorsโ players are in their half.
Great double save from Randolph.
A cross-field pass by Kjaer finds Larsen, whose volley is saved by the Boro goalkeeper.
The Bray native then does well to react and prevent Cornelius from slotting home the rebound.
Denmark break, but Brady does well to sprint back and nick the ball off Cornelius.
The hosts have had 66% of the possession so far according to RTร.
Ireland are struggling to retain the ball for more than a few seconds.
Denmark have had them pinned back for much of this opening 20 minutes.
Itโs 2-0 to Denmark on attempts.
Aside from that Randolph double save though, they havenโt looked like breaking down Irelandโs stubborn defence.
After slow, patient build-up play, Eriksen takes a pot shot.
Itโs straight at Randolph though, and the goalkeeper saves it comfortably.
McClean wins a free down the left following a needless foul by his Danish marker. Bradyโs ball in is then easily cleared
Irelandโs best chance is likely to be from a set piece this evening.
Jรธrgensen curls a shot towards goal.
It drifts wide and Randolph had it covered anyway.
Ireland have not been overly troubled in this opening half hour.
As impressive as Ireland have defended, they have been pretty anonymous from an attacking viewpoint.
OโDowda has struggled to get involved so far.
All of a sudden, Denmark go very close.
Eriksenโs shot is parried by Randolph straight to Sisto, who hits it just wide of the post.
Itโs now 6-0 to Denmark in attempts.
That gives an insight into how disinterested Ireland have been in attacking.
Ankersen finds himself in a decent position, but his delivery is poor.
Both sides havenโt been great in the final third thus far.
McClean does very well down the left to get a cross in.
OโDowdaโs subsequent shot is blocked.
Better from Ireland!
Chance for Ireland!
Christie sprints through on goal, but Schmeichel gets down well to make the save.
Hendrickโs follow up is then blocked.
An Ireland corner is comfortably cleared by Denmark.
The visitorsโ delivery from set pieces has been pretty poor โ Robbie Brady needs to do better.
HALF-TIME: DENMARK 0-0 IRELAND
Itโs been a decent half from an Irish perspective.
Denmark had those two good chances wasted by Cornelius and Sisto.
Otherwise though, Martin OโNeillโs side have defended resolutely, and could even have gone ahead with that chance from Christie at the end of the half.
โWeโve been terrible. We need Wes Hoolahan on the pitch and, I think, Shane Longโฆ And theyโre hopelessโ
No prizes for guessing which RTร pundit said that.
Hereโs a look at what was comfortably Irelandโs best moment of the half.
Fantastic run by Cyrus Christie to create the best chance of the half for Ireland. #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/ChuDt1AZuU
โ FAIreland โฝ๏ธ๐ฎ๐ช (@FAIreland) November 11, 2017
The second half has begunโฆ
A long ball goes towards Delaney, but he can only head it harmlessly out of play.
Denmark look like theyโre trying to pick up the tempo, taking free kicks and other set pieces very quickly.
Arter wins the ball in midfield, but overhits a pass.
The Bournemouth star has been a little disappointing in possession this evening.
Daryl Murphy uses his strength and wins a throw, giving Ireland are rare chance to move up the pitch.
Denmark look a little short of ideas at the moment.
It was a pretty brutal first half from a footballing perspective and this second period has been even worse.
Long balls have been commonplace, with quality in short supply.
Eriksen is claiming his attempted cross hit Arterโs hand.
If the referee gave a penalty there, it would have been akin to the decision in the Switzerland-Northern Ireland game the other night.
OโNeill has a go at Arter, after he hoofs it forward, despite having plenty of time to pick a pass.
Ireland are giving the ball back too quickly to their opponents, who are starting to look more threatening.
Letโs just say Itโs not a classic #DENvIRL !!!!!
โ Sean St Ledger (@seanstledger12) November 11, 2017
Arter takes a blow to the head from the new man Poulsen, winning a free kick in the process.
As I type, the set piece just eludes Ciaran Clark.
With a little over 20 minutes remaining, itโs looking fairly encouraging for Ireland, though a goal for either side will change everything drastically.
It feels like the right time for Ireland to make a change. Murphy has worked tirelessly, but hasnโt had much service. The energy of Shane Long would surely be a welcome boost to the forward line.
As I type, Poulsen strikes a shot from distance just wide.
Ireland make a change.
As anticipated, itโs Long replacing Murphy, who has produced the archetypal โthankless taskโ shift.
Bendtner gets the ball in a promising position.
Randolph comfortably collects his cross, however.
Interestingly, there has yet to be a booking for either side.
Hopefully I havenโt cursed it now.
Arter goes down after Bendtner steps on his ankle.
The Bournemouth star looks like heโll be okay to continue.
Arter cynically stops Kvist from countering.
Heโs lucky to escape a booking, which would have suspended him for the return leg.
.
Bradyโs free kick is hopefully headed on by Clark, but it goes harmlessly out of play.
Ireland have been very wasteful in those type of situations.
Ireland threaten to counter, but Long runs it out of play.
The Southampton man needs to show more composure in those instances.
Ireland arenโt happy.
Longโs shot clearly deflects out of play, but the ref awards a goal kick.
Brady bursts forward but then shoots well over the bar.
That sums up how lacklustre Ireland have been in the final third.
Darren Randolph gets a deserved man of the match, after a couple of fine saves.
Meanwhile, Arter is suffering from cramp and is consequently replaced by Whelan.
OโDowda escapes Kvist and wins a free kick.
Bradyโs ball in finds Duffyโs head, but the attempt is straight at Schmeichel.
Vital save by Randolph.
Poulsenโs header is denied by the Irish stopper, after a good ball in by Larsen.
Moments later, Larsenโs deflected shot is saved by Randolph.
Denmark are rallying late on, but Ireland deserve a draw.
Meanwhile, Conor Hourihane is replacing Jeff Hendrick with about a minute to go.
- As proud Energy Partner to the FAI, SSE Airtricity have given us a pair of tickets to the sold-out Republic of Ireland vs Denmark game to give away. Youโll watch the Boys in Green (hopefully) seal World Cup qualification from your premium level seats after enjoying food and refreshments in the Vavasour Suite before the match. To enter simply email competitions@the42.ie with your score prediction for the away leg and weโll pick a winner from the correct entries on Sunday morning.
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Amazing come around after the low of the georgia/Serbia slip up. Letโs do this Ireland.
@Paddy Norton: hoofball. Jesus we are painful to watch
@David Mc Nally: good result lads.. away from home.. a brilliant result. I hope the fans on Tuesday have more belief the you guys. #hardtobeat
@David Mc Nally: if ye wanted a game of football tonight we be out by now
@Irishoverseas: painful to watch but good result.
@Paddy Norton: Weโve been rubbish at home. Iโm sure Denmark will have noticed that. So we need to go for it. We gave Belgium too much respct in France and got slaughtered, but we went for Sweden, Italy and France and did well enough!
As expectedโฆ. Weโre allergic to passing and holding onto the ball
@Brian OโLoughlin:
Itโs an awful display of hoof ball. Very ugly from both teams.
Hmmmmmm, really tough one to call, heart and head are colliding. Heart says us or a draw, the head says Denmark may have a little bit too much guile for us. Either way I donโt see us going home without something. By that, I mean a draw, a win or an away goal. If we do lose I see it being by the odd goal of three.
@Stephen Duggan: your heart won.
I donโt knowโฆ Denmark is probably one of the most unpredictable sides in Europe. They can play a bad game, or on par with SPAIN or Germany. Hopefully the first type tonight lol, come on Ireland :)
Christ this is painful
@Brian OโLoughlin: So say all of us Brian, stringing a few passes together and a small bit of composure seems always beyong Ireland, we always look like the away side even when at home
@Brian OโLoughlin: I though OโNeill said we were going for it. A Danish goal is coming. We all know this. I hope OโNeill and Co know it!
@Brian OโLoughlin: very painful. Has Murphy actually been in possession of the ball yet?
@Sloop John G: Arter and OโDowda seem to be willing to pass it but when it goes back to Duffy, Clark or Randolph itโs hoooooofffff!
Itโs all Denmark. This could be a long night
@Johnny Bravo: Not really, you should be in bed by 10ish.
O dowda to score a hat trick !!!!
I have a good feeling about tonight. However I have a fear that our home form might let us down in the end
Is Jeff Hendrick actually playing?? Has anyone seen him ?
@Harry Corry: You missed his delightful one two with Conor Salmon then??
@Harry Corry: he was babysitting Eriksen all evening
Iโd take a win here.
@Robert OโRourke: no shลt Sherlock
@Robert OโRourke: Ya I would definitely be OK with a 4-0 Ireland win. Donโt want us to start getting ahead of ourselves with expectations.
@Robert OโRourke: Why settle for a win?
Lump it in
Can someone please tell Eamonn that this is not a game for Wes
@Johnny Bravo: Johnny it actually isโฆ
@Johnny Bravo: Not a full match, last 30 mins!
@Paul Furey: pitch is in rag order better to keep him fresh for the home game.
Another note good to the Irish lads taking a leaf out of previous opponents books by going to ground at every opportunity. Itโs not pretty but itโs all part of the game now
@Johnny Bravo: Good call! And maybe it will shut Dunphy up :)
Hardly knew Hendrick was playing until he was substituted in injury time. On a separate note, twice George Hamilton said Ireland got a point at the end. Does he not know how a two legged playoff works?
Turgid stuff, just the way we like it
Canโt believe RTE still pay dunphy, because he says the same thing at every half timeโฆ. โweโre rubbish, we need to bring on hoolahanโ. Hoolihihan this and hoolihan that. Does he really think a 35 year old is our saviour. Good bless himโฆ.
@Ardmore02: who canโt get a regular game for Norwich.
@Ardmore02: say what you want about dunphy, but you will miss him when heโs gone!
@stephen mc galey: trust me, no I wonโt.
fact we were not supposed to get a play off after the Georgia game makes me think the lads will play with no fear . Same as Last time after we beat Germany and then we done the Bosnians with relative ease . Hopefully a score draw tonight and nick a win Tuesday .
Fingers crossed !
Fair enough we will sit back and defend but If we even tried to break at speed we might look like scoring
So its hang on the hope we get a lucky break
Canโt fecking wait!
That was hard to watch. Muck standard.
Ref is giving Murphy nothing
@Richard Sweeney: Ireland are giving Murphy nothing.
@โ๏ธ: that too
Apparently something nearly happened in the game tonight
Really targeting Christie and itโs hard to blame them.
COYBIG!!
the Danes dont fancy this match there a pretty nervous bunch, as long [no pun intended] as there no silly mistakes its all gravy,
Any negative comments have been deleted by the Journal
This is great stuff altogetherโฆ.
38% possession, come on!
@Ben Coughlan: not going too bad, the Danish crowd are silent.
One word. Randalf.
Them pesky Vikings are on their way. We had no problem with them the last time they arrived! Hopefully they will be staying in Clontarf marina. Bring on the Shane Longโboat b4 our luck runs down the black river.
Ref doing well for the boys to be fair!
@Bill Liffin: ya fair play, kept his cards in his pocket. Stupid having bookings carry over from the group stage. 15 of the 22 starters were on a yellow tonight
Let it in
OLE OLE OLE OLE
Weโre going to WC but probably wonโt win it.
@Bluepoolroad: Guinness is good for you, probablyโฆ
Have to say not great to watch but we are on the front foot now for Tuesday itโs a question of do you want to watch Brazil style football and be at home like the Welsh wondering what if ie be 90 mins away from a major finals tournament. Weโre never going to win the world cup but itโs great to at leat be I The final reckoning. Weโre a small country yet keep punching above our weight. Time to get behind the boys in green.
We have this, they showed theyโre no great if world football, they couldnโt score at home to us. 1- 0 in Dublin and Russia here we come
Bendtner wasnโt world class tonight :D We live to fight another day.
Good result. Would have gladly taken a draw before the game. Still all to play for in Dublin. COYBIG
send that leg to lourds, 1-0 to IRELAND
Awful shit to watch.More shit to come.Kill me now
Something wrong when a team with 2 central premiership midfielders canโt pass the ball โฆ.
Good score.