SKIPPER’S ARMBAND FOR JON?
We take a look at the candidates to replace unlucky captain Coleman
IRELAND surrendered top spot in Group D after Friday’s 0-0 draw with Wales but are still right in the qualification mix at the halfway stage.
As the fourth seeds in Group D behind Wales, Austria and Serbia, nobody would have turned their noses up to be in this position with five games to go – three of them in Dublin. Whether you like the tactics or not, Martin O’neill and Roy Keane have got the most out of their squad. Sure, they don’t play eye-catching football for the most part but their habit of pulling off important results in spite of that has become a recurring theme. But in this campaign, there remains a sense Ireland have ridden their luck at times and the momentum could come to a shuddering halt. O’neill said yesterday: “The first-half against Wales was not terrific but the second-half improved and we got very strong towards the end of the game and could have scored. “But I said it at the very beginning of the campaign; teams are capable of taking points off each other and that has been proved. It will remain so right until the end. “We’re only halfway there and there’s still a seriously long way to go, but we have some points on the board which will hopefully stand us in decent stead.” Had Ireland beaten Wales, they would have led a qualifying group at the halfway point for the first time since 2001, before eventually securing their World Cup ticket. Mirror Sport casts an eye over recent qualifying campaigns to see where Ireland lay at the halfway stage and how they ultimately fared:-
2016
Fourth at halfway and three points behind leaders Poland having beaten Georgia and Gibraltar, drawn in Germany, lost in Scotland and held at home by the Poles. But O’neill’s men still qualified for the finals in France after nailing Bosnia in the play-offs.
WORLD CUP 2014
Opened with a win in Kazakhstan, then a heavy defeat at home to Germany, victory in the Faroes, a point in Sweden and held at home by Austria to sit fourth at halfway. It got no better. Trapattoni was sacked two games before Ireland
finished off the pace in fourth.
2012
Russia, Slovakia and third-placed Ireland shared 10 points after five games. The Boys in Green banked wins over Armenia, Andorra and Macedonia, a draw with Slovakia and defeat to Russia. Giovanni Trapattoni’s side finished second to Russia and beat Estonia in the play-offs
WORLD CUP 2010
After five games, Trapattoni’s Ireland were going well in second with 11 points after games against Georgia, Montenegro, Cyprus, Georgia again and Bulgaria. They finished second in the group, six points behind winners Italy but fell short in that famous play-off against France where Thierry Henry’s handball made global headlines.
2008
Steve Staunton’s charges lay third after six games having lost to Germany and Cyprus, drawn with the Czech Republic, back-to-back wins over San Marino and another over Wales. Ireland finished third – 12 points behind Czech Republic and 10 behind Germany – and failed to qualify.
WORLD CUP 2006
A tight group saw Switzerland, Ireland, France and Israel (in that order) tied on nine points apiece but while it remained nip and tuck, Brian Kerr’s side finished fourth – a point behind the Israelis and Swiss, with the latter contesting the play-off as France topped the standings.
2004
Sitting in fourth at the halfway stage, Brian Kerr’s Ireland were the meat in an Albanian and Georgian sandwich with all sides level on four points after four games. Ireland lost to Russia and Switzerland, beat Georgia and drew in Albania. Finished third behind the Swiss and Russians and missed out on the play-off by three points.