Ireland will ‘try to be more expansive’, pledges O’Neill
MANAGER Martin O’Neill hopes the Republic of Ireland’s past experiences will help them in tonight’s World Cup qualifying playoff second leg against Denmark.
O’Neill’s side are one game away from booking their ticket to Russia after a goalless draw in Copenhagen, with victory at the Aviva Stadium guaranteed to send them through.
Ireland needed a play-off to secure their place at Euro 2016, beating Bosnia 2-0 at home following a 1-1 draw in the first leg, and O’Neill is hoping history repeats itself.
“We’ve had the experience of a couple of years ago almost to the day,” he said.
“The evening in Dublin was really fantastic against Bosnia.
“I think some of the players can draw on part of that, but I think they’ll probably try to create their own experiences. The crowd have been important at all the matches at the Aviva and they’ve given us phenomenal support.
“We’ll try and be a bit more expansive if we can, but we’ve got to find a way to win a match. These players have been able to do that the last couple of years.”
O’Neill insists the quick turnaround from Saturday’s first leg will not be a problem, but is keen for his side to build more than a one-goal advantage having failed to secure an away goal.
“I think that this turnaround is nothing new to ourselves or our opponents,” he added.
“Three days, it’s the format now. You’ve got two games in relatively quick succession when you play international matches.
“The players are ready to go one more time. We may need a couple of goals in the game because to keep out Denmark for two games might be tough.”
Denmark created a series of chances on Saturday, only to be denied by the excellence of Middlesbrough goalkeeper Darren Randolph. ITALY have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 after being shut out by Sweden at a sold-out San Siro.
Trailing 1-0 on aggregate to a Jakob Johansson goal scored in Friday’s first leg in Stockholm, the Azzurri were cheered on by almost 72,000 Italian fans in Milan.
But despite laying siege to the Scandinavian defence over 90 feverish minutes, Italy could not make the breakthrough and the goalless draw was enough for Sweden to reach Russia 2018.
Head coach Giampiero Ventura, who in August agreed a new contract running until 2020, has borne the brunt of the criticism across a World Cup campaign that saw fourtime world champions Italy limp to a second-place finish behind Spain, and with that the ignominy of a two-legged play-off.
It was always going to be hard for Italy to get their own way in the Swedish capital, but with a wealth of striking options, one of the stingiest defences in Europe and arguably the best goalkeeper in the world in Gianluigi Buffon, much more was expected from this return clash.
Buffon is the hardest hit by Italy’s failure to reach the summer finals. At 39, the Juventus player had already decided to quit international football after the tournament and his 175th cap, won on a dismal night in Milan, was his last.
In tweets from the national team’s official account, he said: “We are proud, we are strong, we are stubborn. We will pick ourselves up as we have always done.
“I am leaving a national team set-up that will know how to pick itself up again.
“Best wishes to everybody, and especially to those with whom I have shared this beautiful journey.”