MARTIN O’NEILL HAS largely opted to play Robbie Keane in these Euro 2016 qualifiers, but the games against Gibraltar aside, the LA Galaxy striker has been relatively ineffectual.
Keane has played at least some part in every game of the campaign thus far, despite failing to start in both matches against Scotland.
However, Ireland’s record goalscorer was substituted at half-time against Georgia, with his replacement, Shane Long, making a positive impact after being introduced.
Long’s record of 13 goals in 56 appearances for Ireland is not as impressive as Keane’s. Yet sympathy for Long can be drawn from the fact that of those 56 appearances, only four saw him complete the 90 minutes.
In total, he has started just seven competitive fixtures in eight years playing for the Irish senior team. It is expected to be eight this evening, although O’Neill could yet spring a surprise and opt for Keane or even Daryl Murphy in attack instead.
2. Faith in Meyler
It seems at least two of the midfield spots are more or less nailed down, with James McCarthy and Jeff Hendrick more than likely to start tonight.
However, the question of who replaces the suspended Glenn Whelan remains to be seen.
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Darron Gibson, Eunan O’Kane and David Meyler are the three obvious candidates, with the latter the player most expect to come into the side.
The fact that he was on pre-match media duty is one hint that Meyler will play, while questions remain about Gibson’s fitness, and O’Kane has yet to even win a cap at senior level for his country.
Meyler, with just 13 caps for the Boys in Green, is hardly vastly experienced either. Yet the 26-year-old Hull midfielder and son of former Cork hurler and coach John Meyler, didn’t let Ireland down in the away fixture against Germany, performing laudably as a makeshift right-back. A similarly solid performance will likely be required from the Corkonian tonight, however, if Ireland are to get anything from this game.
3. Germany an entirely different prospect compared with last time out
In the pre-match press conference, Joachim Löw suggested he is unlikely to make too many changes from the side that beat Scotland 3-2 last month. And it’s no real surprise, because Germany were well worth their victory on that occasion, and probably should have won by more.
After a stuttering start to Group D, the reigning world champions are now on the verge of qualifying, needing just a point this evening to guarantee their place in France next summer.
Consequently, they are now in a vastly different state to the team that could only draw 1-1 with Ireland last year.
Not only did only six of their players feature in both aforementioned games, but the Germans are finally beginning to play with the kind of swagger and confidence that had been initially absent for the most part from the post-World Cup era.
4. Is O’Neill bluffing?
Martin O’Neill says Ireland will be positive against the Germans this evening, however anything other than a backs-to-the-wall performance for the majority of the 90 minutes would be a major surprise.
Germany showed what they are capable of against Scotland at Hampden last month — in the first half alone, they completed 430 passes in comparison to the Scots’ 90.
A similar situation is expected at the Aviva, with the world champions dominating possession and territory, and Ireland attempting to hit their opponents on the break, as was the case in the reverse fixture.
At the very least, O’Neill will want to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing 6-1 defeat the last time the Germans came to Dublin in 2012. Alternatively, emulating the 1-1 draw at the Stadion Gelsenkirchen would be a major achievement for a team of relatively modest ability.
5. Pressure on Cyrus Christie
Few players will have enjoyed as easy a competitive international debut as Derby’s Cyrus Christie did last month, yet at the same time, not many footballers experience such a difficult test immediately thereafter, coming up against the world champions. Of course, that’s assuming he does start at right-back in place of the injured Seamus Coleman, as expected.
Christie impressed in the relatively low-key, relaxed environment of Faro against Gibraltar, while he also earned praise for his performance in the friendly against USA last November. Playing Germany in such a crucial fixture is patently a different matter entirely, however.
At just 23, Christie has made over 150 appearances with Coventry and Derby in English football, but if he plays, this evening will be without doubt the biggest match of his career so far. O’Neill and co will therefore be hoping the youngster has the temperament to thrive in these unfamiliar and highly pressurised circumstances.
5 talking points ahead of tonight's Ireland-Germany clash
1. Robbie Keane v Shane Long
MARTIN O’NEILL HAS largely opted to play Robbie Keane in these Euro 2016 qualifiers, but the games against Gibraltar aside, the LA Galaxy striker has been relatively ineffectual.
Keane has played at least some part in every game of the campaign thus far, despite failing to start in both matches against Scotland.
However, Ireland’s record goalscorer was substituted at half-time against Georgia, with his replacement, Shane Long, making a positive impact after being introduced.
Long’s record of 13 goals in 56 appearances for Ireland is not as impressive as Keane’s. Yet sympathy for Long can be drawn from the fact that of those 56 appearances, only four saw him complete the 90 minutes.
In total, he has started just seven competitive fixtures in eight years playing for the Irish senior team. It is expected to be eight this evening, although O’Neill could yet spring a surprise and opt for Keane or even Daryl Murphy in attack instead.
2. Faith in Meyler
It seems at least two of the midfield spots are more or less nailed down, with James McCarthy and Jeff Hendrick more than likely to start tonight.
However, the question of who replaces the suspended Glenn Whelan remains to be seen.
Darron Gibson, Eunan O’Kane and David Meyler are the three obvious candidates, with the latter the player most expect to come into the side.
The fact that he was on pre-match media duty is one hint that Meyler will play, while questions remain about Gibson’s fitness, and O’Kane has yet to even win a cap at senior level for his country.
Meyler, with just 13 caps for the Boys in Green, is hardly vastly experienced either. Yet the 26-year-old Hull midfielder and son of former Cork hurler and coach John Meyler, didn’t let Ireland down in the away fixture against Germany, performing laudably as a makeshift right-back. A similarly solid performance will likely be required from the Corkonian tonight, however, if Ireland are to get anything from this game.
3. Germany an entirely different prospect compared with last time out
In the pre-match press conference, Joachim Löw suggested he is unlikely to make too many changes from the side that beat Scotland 3-2 last month. And it’s no real surprise, because Germany were well worth their victory on that occasion, and probably should have won by more.
After a stuttering start to Group D, the reigning world champions are now on the verge of qualifying, needing just a point this evening to guarantee their place in France next summer.
Consequently, they are now in a vastly different state to the team that could only draw 1-1 with Ireland last year.
Not only did only six of their players feature in both aforementioned games, but the Germans are finally beginning to play with the kind of swagger and confidence that had been initially absent for the most part from the post-World Cup era.
4. Is O’Neill bluffing?
Martin O’Neill says Ireland will be positive against the Germans this evening, however anything other than a backs-to-the-wall performance for the majority of the 90 minutes would be a major surprise.
Germany showed what they are capable of against Scotland at Hampden last month — in the first half alone, they completed 430 passes in comparison to the Scots’ 90.
A similar situation is expected at the Aviva, with the world champions dominating possession and territory, and Ireland attempting to hit their opponents on the break, as was the case in the reverse fixture.
At the very least, O’Neill will want to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing 6-1 defeat the last time the Germans came to Dublin in 2012. Alternatively, emulating the 1-1 draw at the Stadion Gelsenkirchen would be a major achievement for a team of relatively modest ability.
5. Pressure on Cyrus Christie
Few players will have enjoyed as easy a competitive international debut as Derby’s Cyrus Christie did last month, yet at the same time, not many footballers experience such a difficult test immediately thereafter, coming up against the world champions. Of course, that’s assuming he does start at right-back in place of the injured Seamus Coleman, as expected.
Christie impressed in the relatively low-key, relaxed environment of Faro against Gibraltar, while he also earned praise for his performance in the friendly against USA last November. Playing Germany in such a crucial fixture is patently a different matter entirely, however.
At just 23, Christie has made over 150 appearances with Coventry and Derby in English football, but if he plays, this evening will be without doubt the biggest match of his career so far. O’Neill and co will therefore be hoping the youngster has the temperament to thrive in these unfamiliar and highly pressurised circumstances.
Originally published at 07.30
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