- Paul Fennessy reports from Lyon
1. Should Ireland have made more of the Henry incident in build-up to crunch tie?
IN RECENT DAYS, Roy Keane, Martin O’Neill and Shane Long have all sought to play down the 2009 Thierry Henry handball incident.
Suggestions of revenge have been dismissed as irrelevant, while Robbie Keane was somewhat less diplomatic when asked about the infamous moment, telling reporters: “Yeah, I was there… I will not think about that for one second. How long ago was it? Seven years. F***ing hell, move on.”
Indeed, by and large, the French media seem far more interested in discussing the event than their Irish colleagues.
At the Irish team’s pre-match press conferences this week, all questions regarding Henry were asked by the French press and the majority of the more explosive comments came out of France, with William Gallas claiming that the Irish team want revenge.
Richard Dunne — the now-retired defender who played during that infamous night in Paris — is one of the few Irish football people to give any credence to talk of payback.
“We will go to play the French without a fear in the world and we have a little bit of history with them to feed off. We owe them one,” the Dubliner said, in his role as an ITV pundit.
Yet notwithstanding Dunne’s comments, the Irish team have by and large been quite civil and polite on the matter of the 2010 World Cup qualifier.
But perhaps they should have made more of the issue — the referee will be under pressure to give the hosts decisions at the behest of the home crowd this afternoon. Comments drawing attention to 2009 might offset have this pressure somewhat, so maybe Ireland were unwise not to draw more attention to this argument.
And while it’s laudable on one hand that the Boys in Green are unwilling to engage in such Machiavellian behaviour, they may come to regret it if decisions continue to go against them in this tournament.
2. Will there be changes to O’Neill’s starting XI?
Martin O’Neill has not been known for making sweeping changes during his time as Ireland manager (Gibraltar matches aside), so last Wednesday against Italy was an anomaly.
The Irish boss made some big calls with four new players coming into the side and the team selection was ultimately vindicated, with Ireland earning a historic 1-0 win over Italy, and progressing to the second round of the European Championships for the first time ever in the process.
Consequently the temptation will be to pick the exact same starting XI, particularly if Stephen Ward is fit to play, with the signs looking good for the left-back yesterday.
‘Energy’ has been O’Neill’s buzzword in recent days and so it would be no surprise if Derby’s Cyrus Christie comes in if Ward is injured.
Another option would be bringing Hoolahan back into the team, after he was left out of the Italian encounter, with Brady dropping to left-back, though this move would arguably reduce the latter’s influence in attack, while bringing in a less dynamic if creatively adept player.
Meanwhile, Richard Keogh’s appearance at the pre-match press conference instead of captain John O’Shea suggests the Sunderland man may have to be content with a place on the bench for the second consecutive match today.
3. How big an impact will lack of supporters have?
Roy Keane was in no doubt at how big an influence the Irish crowd had over the stunning victory against Italy on Wednesday night
“I don’t think we felt ready to go home – that’s why I think we had such a big performance,” he said, earlier this week.
“Sometimes you’re playing for yourself, you’re playing for the team, you’re playing for your family. But I really felt, with the Italian game, everyone was doing it for the supporters. We thought, ‘They deserve to stay on another few days.’”
And in the aftermath of the Italy win, O’Neill also highlighted the supporters’ part in the win.
“The enormous support kept us going throughout the game and I think the players and fans fed off each other.”
While Ireland’s first three matches have been reminiscent of home games due to the multitude of supporters in green shirts watching on, the ticketing situation this afternoon means it will be a much more hostile situation than Ireland have been used to in France this summer, with home supporters set to occupy the vast majority of the ground.
During Saturday’s press conference, O’Neill hailed his side’s mental strength — in Lyon later today, they will need to show this quality more than ever, with the French being given every conceivable advantage going into this game.
4. Is France’s defence vulnerable?
Most people agree that France’s defence is the weakest aspect of their team.
At 33 and 35 respectively, Bacary Sagna and Patrice Evra have undoubtedly seen better days.
In addition, while Adil Rami and Laurent Koscielny are a solid enough-looking defensive partnership, Shane Long certainly caused the latter plenty of problems in the Premier League this season.
The Tipperary native was named man-of-the-match and scored twice as Southampton crushed Arsenal 4-0, amid a distinctly below-par display from Koscielny.
Of course, it will be difficult to emulate this fantastic performance in an entirely different context, but that is not to say the speedy Long won’t get any joy from a slow, ageing French defence.
At his press conference yesterday, Martin O’Neill vowed that his side would try to be adventurous.
And perhaps exploiting this weakness would be a wise strategy rather than sitting back and soaking up pressure — a policy that failed against Belgium — as they prepare to take on one of the best attacking international sides in the world.
5. Can Hendrick repeat Italy performance and become a star?
Most people would agree that Jeff Hendrick gave his best performance in an Ireland jersey against Italy.
Up against players of the quality of Thiago Motta (PSG) and Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Hendrick did not look out of place.
Despite being more accustomed to playing with Derby in the Championship, the Ireland international was more than a match for Italy’s stars. The 24-year-old was integral as Ireland dominated for long periods against the Italians, seeing 48% possession overall, as he consistently played with a calmness on the ball and a degree of flair in the middle of the park that made the Dubliner one of the standout Irish players on the night.
There was a freshness about Hendrick that can perhaps be explained by the fact that, while most players on the pitch are coming to the end of a long, intense season, the former St Kevin’s Boys youngster completed 90 minutes just 14 times in the Championship this campaign due to injuries and below-par form.
But on the back of his Euros displays, it’s no surprise to hear reports that the Derby man has been attracting Premier League interest of late.
Consequently, having started the qualifying campaign as one of the more peripheral members of the squad, a similarly commanding display against France would surely solidify his status as the team’s star of the tournament.
Yet doing it against an Italian side with questionable desire is one thing, but dominating at the expense of world-class players such as N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba in a knockout match is another challenge entirely.
At the very least, commentators will surely at least stop referring to him as ‘Hendrix’ by the time the tournament ends.
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