There are just two rounds of qualifying left in the European World Cup qualifying groups and there has been some mixed news for all the sides still with a chance of making the tournament in South Africa from Fifa this week. The ruling body have announced that the
teams who finish second in their Euro qualifying groups will be seeded before their play-off match. For the Republic of Ireland this will come as a massive blow, should the hold on to second spot they will face one of the higher ranked teams in the Fifa rankings, such as France, rather than a draw which may have thrown up a much more beatable team.
There is a slim chance Ireland could top their qualifying group, but they must beat Italy on Saturday to stand any chance of this. The Italians are yet to lose in qualification but the Irish held them to a 1-1 draw in Bari the last time they met and the trip to Ireland will not be easy for the Azzurri. On paper the visitors are of course the better team, they have the better players and a much more impressive record over the years but that is no reason to
discount Ireland’s chances of upsetting the World Cup betting odds.
Italian managerial legend Giovanni Trapattoni is the current boss of Ireland and he will be relishing the test of coming up against his home nation. ‘Il Trap’ is widely regarded as one of the most successful Italian managers ever at club level with seven Serie A winners medals in his collection. He has also won titles across Europe in countries such as Austria, Portugal and Germany and he certainly has a very impressive record. However, his reign as the national coach of Italy was less successful, he led the Azzurri to the World Cup in 2002 and the Euro Championships in 2004 but on both occasions the Italians fell early. A win for ‘Il Trap’ against Italy would of course be massive for the 70-year-old and I’m sure his desire for all the points will filter through to the Irish squad.
Current Italy boss Marcello Lippi is largely expected to name a squad dominated by players fro Juventus, the club he managed until 2004. Nicola Legrottaglie and Giorgio Chiellini will probably be the chosen central defensive pair in the absence of Fabio Cannavaro (who may indeed by absent from the tournament next summer after failing a drugs test, we still don’t know the circumstances surrounding that yet). They have a great side throughout and players such as Fiorentina’s Riccardo Montolivo and Daniele De Rossi, of Roma, will look to unlock the Irish defence with clever passes and runs from midfield, while Luca Toni, Alberto Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta are more than capable of finding the net.
Ireland have been dealt a massive blow with the news Fulham’s Damien Duff will be unavailable through injury. However, Celtic Aiden McGeady and Hull’s Stephen Hunt are both talented wingers who should be able to make the effects of Duff’s absence minimal. In defence Aston Villa’s Richard Dunne is a hard man to pass and Man City’s Shay Given is perhaps one of the best goalkeepers in world football (as is the Italian stopper Gianluigi Buffon of course). Spurs striker Robbie Keane is likely to be partnered by Wolves frontman Kevin Doyle in attack and both have been among the goals of late. The Italians will be the heavy World Cup betting favourites but Ireland should give them a great game and have every chance of getting a result. The game takes place at Croke Park, Dublin on Saturday October 10, kick off is at 20.00 (GMT) and I expect this to be the most entertaining of the qualifiers taking place this weekend.