1. Can Robbie Keane equal Gerd Muller’s record and make it a fitting finale?
CYNICS MIGHT SUGGEST that a goal against Oman would be a fitting end to Robbie Keane’s international career, given the perception that the 36-year-old striker always scores against the weaker sides.
And this assumption was true to an extent in the later years — Keane may have been Ireland’s joint-top scorer along with Jon Walters in the team’s last qualifying campaign, but each of his five strikes were against Gibraltar.
However, the criticism that he ‘never did it against the big teams’ is plainly untrue, as goals against Spain, France, Holland, Germany and Italy among others attest.
And tonight, Keane can reach another milestone — one more goal will bring him level with Germany legend Gerd Muller’s international tally of 68 goals.
Keane is currently 15th on the overall list, with some relatively obscure players such as Egypt’s Hossam Hassan, Japan’s Kunishige Kamamoto and Kuwait’s Bashar Abdullah, as well as players that will be a bit more familiar to Irish football fans, including Brazil’s Pele and Trinidad and Tobago’s Stern John, narrowly ahead of him.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Ali Daei — the only player in international football history to officially break the 100-goal barrier — tops the list with 109 goals in 150 appearances between 1993 and 2006.
Furthermore, not only would two goals tonight take Keane ahead of Muller, it would also bring him to fourth on the list of all-time European goalscorers behind Miroslav Klose (Germany — 71 goals), Sándor Kocsis (Hungary — 75 goals) and Ferenc Puskás (Hungary and Spain — 84 goals).
And to make the occasion even more special, a goal this evening would maintain the Dubliner’s remarkable record of scoring at least one goal for Ireland every year since making his debut against Czech Republic in 1998 — an incredible feat when you consider the potential pitfalls, such as injury problems or lack of game time in the latter stages of his career.
But regardless of what happens tonight, there is no doubting Keane deserves to be remembered as one of Ireland’s greatest-ever footballers. He will go down in the annals as a legend during what wasn’t always a vintage period in Irish football history.
Advertisement
2. What will the starting XI be tonight and how closely will it resemble the team to face Serbia?
Irish players train at the National Sports Complex in Abbotstown ahead of tonight's game. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
Irish fans might be lulled into a false sense of security in relation to Monday’s match with Serbia when they glance at their Euro 2016 qualifying group and notice that they finished second from bottom and picked up just four points. Yet this outcome doesn’t tell the full story.
Firstly, the Serbians were drawn into a tricky group, with eventual Euro 2016 winners, Portugal, Albania, who impressed in the tournament proper, and Denmark, who only missed out on inclusion, via the play-offs, following their defeat to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired Sweden.
While they didn’t have the best of campaigns, Serbia’s players were affected by issues beyond their control. Crowd trouble meant their game against Albania was abandoned and awarded as a 3-0 victory to the visitors. They were also docked three points, which meant that of their two wins — 2-0 results at home to Armenia and away to Albania, only one actually counted.
Moreover, they were seeded above Ireland when the World Cup 2018 qualifying draw was made, and they have a largely young squad boasting some impressive players, including Southampton’s Dušan Tadić, Newcastle’s Aleksandar Mitrović, Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanović and Schalkle’s Matija Nastasić, formerly of Manchester City.
Consequently, anyone who assumes Monday’s game will be easy for Ireland is sadly mistaken, despite the Boys in Green being 16 places above Serbia in the current Fifa rankings.
Tonight’s friendly against Oman should therefore be seen as vital preparation ahead of a crucial game, rather than just a testimonial-esque send-off for Robbie Keane.
It’s hard to imagine Keane won’t start, while O’Neill has confirmed that James McCarthy, John O’Shea and Seamus Coleman will all miss this evening’s match as they bid to recover in time for Monday’s encounter, while last-minute transfer activity involving Jeff Hendrick or Robbie Brady among others could also render further players unavailable tonight.
Yet those individuals aside, O’Neill must surely look to play a side as close as possible to the starting XI against Serbia, as he prepares to preside over a game that could ultimately be pivotal in deciding Group D’s outcome.
In the last qualification campaign, if it weren’t for Aiden McGeady’s two goals away to Georgia in the opener, the Boys in Green would not have qualified, and the group is likely to be similarly closely fought this time around.
As O’Neill indicated at yesterday’s press conference, it’s a tricky group, in which every team is capable of taking points off each other, including bottom seeds Georgia, who will be buoyed by their shock defeat of Scotland towards the end of their last qualifying campaign.
3. Will we learn anything?
Shane Duffy was one player who made a big impact in a friendly last March against Switzerland. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Friendlies have long since been thought of as an annoying and unnecessary inconvenience by many people in football for quite some time now.
Yet while Keane was regularly playing in crucial Champions League and Premier League games for Man United, the situation is in stark contrast with players in the current Irish squad, some of whom have gotten little or no game time with their clubs this season.
To cite one extreme example, it’s been over a year since Aiden McGeady last played for Everton in a League Cup match, before an unsuccessful loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday ended with the former Celtic star being excluded from their squad ahead of vital play-off games. O’Neill hinted yesterday that the 30-year-old winger could even find himself out of the international reckoning entirely should his struggles at club level continue.
But to brand these type of matches ‘pointless’ or dismiss them as glorified fitness tests is unfair, even if the obscure opposition and the sense of Robbie Keane’s farewell overshadowing everything else gives this clash an even more casual feel than usual.
In fact, sometimes friendlies can be useful and yes, managers do learn from them, despite suggestions to the contrary. For instance, in the lead up to Euro 2016, Shane Duffy’s performance in the 1-0 win against Switzerland seemingly won him a place on the plane, while Paul McShane’s display in the 2-2 draw with Slovakia a few days later appeared to put him out of contention.
Tonight, we might just see one of the less heralded squad members play themselves into the starting XI against Serbia — Harry Arter is one player who will surely be eyeing one of the vacant central midfield spots, particularly with the knowledge that James McCarthy is a big doubt for the game on Monday evening.
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
Can Robbie Keane equal Gerd Muller's record and more Ireland-Oman talking points
1. Can Robbie Keane equal Gerd Muller’s record and make it a fitting finale?
CYNICS MIGHT SUGGEST that a goal against Oman would be a fitting end to Robbie Keane’s international career, given the perception that the 36-year-old striker always scores against the weaker sides.
And this assumption was true to an extent in the later years — Keane may have been Ireland’s joint-top scorer along with Jon Walters in the team’s last qualifying campaign, but each of his five strikes were against Gibraltar.
However, the criticism that he ‘never did it against the big teams’ is plainly untrue, as goals against Spain, France, Holland, Germany and Italy among others attest.
And tonight, Keane can reach another milestone — one more goal will bring him level with Germany legend Gerd Muller’s international tally of 68 goals.
Keane is currently 15th on the overall list, with some relatively obscure players such as Egypt’s Hossam Hassan, Japan’s Kunishige Kamamoto and Kuwait’s Bashar Abdullah, as well as players that will be a bit more familiar to Irish football fans, including Brazil’s Pele and Trinidad and Tobago’s Stern John, narrowly ahead of him.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Ali Daei — the only player in international football history to officially break the 100-goal barrier — tops the list with 109 goals in 150 appearances between 1993 and 2006.
Furthermore, not only would two goals tonight take Keane ahead of Muller, it would also bring him to fourth on the list of all-time European goalscorers behind Miroslav Klose (Germany — 71 goals), Sándor Kocsis (Hungary — 75 goals) and Ferenc Puskás (Hungary and Spain — 84 goals).
And to make the occasion even more special, a goal this evening would maintain the Dubliner’s remarkable record of scoring at least one goal for Ireland every year since making his debut against Czech Republic in 1998 — an incredible feat when you consider the potential pitfalls, such as injury problems or lack of game time in the latter stages of his career.
But regardless of what happens tonight, there is no doubting Keane deserves to be remembered as one of Ireland’s greatest-ever footballers. He will go down in the annals as a legend during what wasn’t always a vintage period in Irish football history.
2. What will the starting XI be tonight and how closely will it resemble the team to face Serbia?
Irish fans might be lulled into a false sense of security in relation to Monday’s match with Serbia when they glance at their Euro 2016 qualifying group and notice that they finished second from bottom and picked up just four points. Yet this outcome doesn’t tell the full story.
Firstly, the Serbians were drawn into a tricky group, with eventual Euro 2016 winners, Portugal, Albania, who impressed in the tournament proper, and Denmark, who only missed out on inclusion, via the play-offs, following their defeat to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired Sweden.
While they didn’t have the best of campaigns, Serbia’s players were affected by issues beyond their control. Crowd trouble meant their game against Albania was abandoned and awarded as a 3-0 victory to the visitors. They were also docked three points, which meant that of their two wins — 2-0 results at home to Armenia and away to Albania, only one actually counted.
Moreover, they were seeded above Ireland when the World Cup 2018 qualifying draw was made, and they have a largely young squad boasting some impressive players, including Southampton’s Dušan Tadić, Newcastle’s Aleksandar Mitrović, Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanović and Schalkle’s Matija Nastasić, formerly of Manchester City.
Consequently, anyone who assumes Monday’s game will be easy for Ireland is sadly mistaken, despite the Boys in Green being 16 places above Serbia in the current Fifa rankings.
Tonight’s friendly against Oman should therefore be seen as vital preparation ahead of a crucial game, rather than just a testimonial-esque send-off for Robbie Keane.
It’s hard to imagine Keane won’t start, while O’Neill has confirmed that James McCarthy, John O’Shea and Seamus Coleman will all miss this evening’s match as they bid to recover in time for Monday’s encounter, while last-minute transfer activity involving Jeff Hendrick or Robbie Brady among others could also render further players unavailable tonight.
Yet those individuals aside, O’Neill must surely look to play a side as close as possible to the starting XI against Serbia, as he prepares to preside over a game that could ultimately be pivotal in deciding Group D’s outcome.
In the last qualification campaign, if it weren’t for Aiden McGeady’s two goals away to Georgia in the opener, the Boys in Green would not have qualified, and the group is likely to be similarly closely fought this time around.
As O’Neill indicated at yesterday’s press conference, it’s a tricky group, in which every team is capable of taking points off each other, including bottom seeds Georgia, who will be buoyed by their shock defeat of Scotland towards the end of their last qualifying campaign.
3. Will we learn anything?
Friendlies have long since been thought of as an annoying and unnecessary inconvenience by many people in football for quite some time now.
As a player, Ireland assistant boss Roy Keane, was famously derogatory about these type of games. In addition, the Corkonian played in just seven out of a possible 27 friendly matches during Mick McCarthy’s time as manager.
Yet while Keane was regularly playing in crucial Champions League and Premier League games for Man United, the situation is in stark contrast with players in the current Irish squad, some of whom have gotten little or no game time with their clubs this season.
To cite one extreme example, it’s been over a year since Aiden McGeady last played for Everton in a League Cup match, before an unsuccessful loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday ended with the former Celtic star being excluded from their squad ahead of vital play-off games. O’Neill hinted yesterday that the 30-year-old winger could even find himself out of the international reckoning entirely should his struggles at club level continue.
But to brand these type of matches ‘pointless’ or dismiss them as glorified fitness tests is unfair, even if the obscure opposition and the sense of Robbie Keane’s farewell overshadowing everything else gives this clash an even more casual feel than usual.
In fact, sometimes friendlies can be useful and yes, managers do learn from them, despite suggestions to the contrary. For instance, in the lead up to Euro 2016, Shane Duffy’s performance in the 1-0 win against Switzerland seemingly won him a place on the plane, while Paul McShane’s display in the 2-2 draw with Slovakia a few days later appeared to put him out of contention.
Tonight, we might just see one of the less heralded squad members play themselves into the starting XI against Serbia — Harry Arter is one player who will surely be eyeing one of the vacant central midfield spots, particularly with the knowledge that James McCarthy is a big doubt for the game on Monday evening.
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
New campaign but familiar problems for Martin O’Neill and Ireland>
Andre Ayew and Asamoah Gyan forced to pay for teammates’ airfares before AFCON qualifier>
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Analysis Gerd Muller Martin O'Neill Robbie Keane Talking Points Ireland Republic Oman