SORRY TO BRING you down on a Friday morning but we need to talk about Ireland.
Interim manager Noel King faces a baptism of fire against Germany tonight and, as if that wasn’t tough enough, he may have to do it without captain and record goalscorer Robbie Keane.
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King won’t name his side until shortly before kick-off and by then, we will know if Keane has passed a late fitness test on the ankle injury that has kept him out of training for the last two days.
It looks like King is leaning towards a 4-5-1 to combat a German side who are expected to dominate possession for long stretches.
Good news: Jogi Löw’s side are missing Miroslav Klose, Marco Reus, Lucas Podolski and Mario Gomez.
Bad news: they still have Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller and many, many more.
Oh, and they won 6-1 in Dublin this time last year.
So we’re asking, how do you think Ireland will fare tonight? What would you class as a “positive result” for Noel King’s side?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section. Try to keep it slightly upbeat, it is Friday after all…
Like football? Follow TheScore.ie’s dedicated Twitter account @football_ie >
Open thread: how will Noel King's Ireland fare against Germany?
SORRY TO BRING you down on a Friday morning but we need to talk about Ireland.
Interim manager Noel King faces a baptism of fire against Germany tonight and, as if that wasn’t tough enough, he may have to do it without captain and record goalscorer Robbie Keane.
King won’t name his side until shortly before kick-off and by then, we will know if Keane has passed a late fitness test on the ankle injury that has kept him out of training for the last two days.
It looks like King is leaning towards a 4-5-1 to combat a German side who are expected to dominate possession for long stretches.
Good news: Jogi Löw’s side are missing Miroslav Klose, Marco Reus, Lucas Podolski and Mario Gomez.
Bad news: they still have Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller and many, many more.
Oh, and they won 6-1 in Dublin this time last year.
So we’re asking, how do you think Ireland will fare tonight? What would you class as a “positive result” for Noel King’s side?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section. Try to keep it slightly upbeat, it is Friday after all…
Like football? Follow TheScore.ie’s dedicated Twitter account @football_ie >
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