LET’S PRAY FOR A RUB OF GREEN
Ireland unseeded in play-offs so...
THE Republic of Ireland will be relying on the luck of the draw in the Euro 2016 play-offs as one of the unseeded third-placed teams. Martin O’Neill’s team didn’t get the break of the ball they were looking for in the final round of Euro qualifiers last night and will face either Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, Sweden or Hungary in next month’s shoot-out for the finals. Of the quartet, Ireland have never played Ukraine at senior level, and have only met Bosnia-Herzegovina once, in a friendly. Along with Ireland, the three other unseeded teams in Sunday morning’s draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon are Denmark, Norway and Slovenia. The eight teams in the Last Chance Saloon will be divided into seeded and non-seeded teams, based on the UEFA national team coefficient rankings — Ireland are provisionally sixth of the eight survivors. Each fixture will see a seeded team play against a non-seeded team, with the first team drawn to play the first leg at home. The first legs will be played on November 12-14, with the second legs on November 15-17. Turkey, last-gasp 1-0 winners over Iceland, secured qualification to France next summer as the best third-placed team after Kazakhstan won in Latvia. The draw for the finals is in Paris on December 12.
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA Coach: Mehmed Bazdarevic World ranking: 30
Record in major tournaments: World Cup — Group stage (2014); European Championship — Play-offs (2012). Should Ireland fear them? No. There was talk of a golden generation at the World Cup finals last summer but single goal defeats to Argentina and Nigeria meant early elimination from the tournament. This is their second play- off for the Euro finals. Four years ago, they lost 6- 2 to Portugal on aggregate. Also they lost to Ireland in Dublin just before t he Euro 2012 finals. How did they do in qualifiers? As top seeds, they had a platform to qualify but they never landed a blow against Belgium and Wales and lost three qualifiers, including at home to Cyprus. Stumbled into the play-offs last night. Record v Republic of Ireland: P1 W0 D0 L1. Top man: Edin Dzeko (above). The former Manchester City striker, now at Roma, is the country’s all- time l eading scorer, and captain.
UKRAINE Coach: Mykhaylo Fomenko World ranking: 24
Record in major tournaments: World Cup — Quarter-finals (2006); European Championship — Group stage (2012). Should Ireland fear them? Not going by their record in t he pl a y - of f s , which is wretched. In their short history as an independent football nation, Ukraine have contested five play-offs since 1998, four for the World Cup and one for the European Championships, and lost the lot. The record suggests they are vulnerable to nerves on the big stage. How did they do in qualifiers? As the highest ranked second seeds, they were expected to quali f y but all the tight games went against them, as they lost 1-0 home and a way to Spain, and 1- 0 away to Slovakia. They only conceded four goals in 10 qualifiers so they are clearly a tough nut to crack. Republic of Ireland record v Ukraine: The teams have never met at senior level. Top man: Anatoly Tymoshchuk (above). The 36-year-old midfielder, and captain, has a record 140 caps. Spent four seasons at Bayern Munich, winning two Bundesliga titles, two German Cups and the Champions League.
SWEDEN Coach: Erik Hamren World ranking: 45
Record in major tournaments: World Cup — Runners- up 1958, twice third; European Championship — Semi-finals 1992. Should Ireland fear them? There will be a wariness in light of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers where Sweden took four points from Ireland, highlighted by a 2- 1 comeback win in Dubl i n which essentially sealed the fate of Giovanni Trapattoni. In the play-offs, Sweden lost 4-2 to Portugal where Ronaldo’s sensational hat-trick out- gunned Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s double in a classic in Stockholm. How did they do in qualifiers? They were well placed for automatic qualification until a slip-up last month saw them lose away to Russia (1-0) and home to Austria (4-1) three days later. Record v Republic of Ireland record: P10 W5 D2 L3. Top man: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (below left). The tattooed totem scored eight goals in the qualifiers, more than the rest of his colleagues combined. One of the most lethal strikers around.
HUNGARY Coach: Bernd Stock World ranking: 33
Record in major tournaments: World Cup — Runners- up (1938, 1954); European Championships — Third (1964). Should Ireland fear them? No. These are the seeds Martin O’Neill will privately covet in Sunday’s draw. Once the ‘Magical Magyars’ of Puskas and Co, they last reached a major final in 1986. How did they do in the qualifiers? Dropped four points to Northern Ireland, and conceded late goals to Greece on Sunday, but looked home and hosed for the wild card entry for the best third-placed team going i nto l ast night. However, Latvia’s home defeat by Kazakhstan, coupled with Turkey’s last-gasp winner, re-routed them into the play-offs. Record v Republic of Ireland: P11 W4 D5 L2. Top man: Gabor Kiraly (above). The 39-year-old goalkeeper should win his 100th cap in the play-offs.