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Nostalgia

Ireland v Germany: The past five meetings between the sides

Need a dose of optimism ahead of tonight’s game? Our recent record reads: one win, three draws and one defeat.

Ireland 1 West Germany 1 – International friendly, Lansdowne Road, September 6, 1989

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A year before they went on to win their third World Cup in Italy, Franz Beckenbauer brought his side to Dublin. Jack’s Army held the West Germans to a 1-1 draw as Hans Dorfner equalised with a strike from distance on 33 minutes after Frank Stapleton’s early opener.

Ireland: Bonner,  McCarthy, McGrath, Morris, O’Leary, Staunton, Brady (Townsend 36), Tony Galvin, Whelan, Aldridge (Byrne 75), Stapleton (Cascarino 75).

West Germany: Illgner (Aumann 46), Augenthaler, Buchwald (Reinhardt), Pflügler, Reuter, Dorfner (Fach), Häßler, Littbarski, Möller, Thon, Wohlfarth.

Germany 0 Ireland 2 – International friendly, Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover, May 29, 1994

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Having qualified for their third major tournament under Charlton, Ireland travelled to Hannover for a warm-up game ahead of USA ’94. And, incredibly, goals from Big Cas and a 19-year-old Gary Kelly either side of half time sealed victory in the Niedersachsenstadion.

Germany: Illgner, Matthäus, Kohler (Häßler 46), Strunz, Basler, Buchwald (Berthold 36), Sammer, Wagner, A Möller (Effenberg 46), Riedle (Völler 76), Klinsmann.

Ireland: A Kelly, Irwin (G Kelly 46), McGrath, Babb, Phelan, McAteer (Houghton 86), Sheridan (Whelan 46), Townsend, Keane, Staunton, Cascarino (Coyne 70).

Ireland 1 Germany 1 – World Cup group stages, Kashima Stadium, Ibaraki, June 5, 2002

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Matty Holland had earned Ireland a draw against Cameroon in their opening World Cup 2002 fixture but next up was the mighty Germans. Miroslav Klose headed past Shay Given to take his tally to four but Ireland pushed for a goal in the second half and went close through Damien Duff and Holland.

Deep into injury time, they got their just reward – Robbie Keane latched onto a trademark Niall Quinn flick and blasted the ball just inside Oliver Kahn’s near post. A truly great moment in Irish football.

Ireland: Given,  Finnan, Breen, Staunton (Cunningham 87), Harte (Reid 73), Kelly (Quinn 73), Holland, Kinsella, Kilbane, Keane, Duff.

Germany: Kahn, Linke, Ramelow, Metzelder, Frings, Hamann, Ballack, Schneider (Jeremies 90), Ziege, Jancker (Bierhoff 75), Klose (Bode 85).

Germany 1 Ireland 0 – World Cup qualifier, Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart, September 2, 2006

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In Steve Staunton’s first competitive game as Ireland manager, they suffered a cruel defeat in Stuttgart. An encouraging performance was spoiled when, on 56 minutes, Lukas Podolski’s free-kick was deflected off the heel of Robbie Keane and into the back of the net.

Germany: Lehmann, Lahm, Friedrich, Manuel Friedrich, Jansen, Schneider (Borowski 83), Frings, Ballack, Schweinsteiger, Podolski (Neuville 76), Klose.

Ireland: Given, Carr, A O’Brien, Dunne, Kilbane (Alan O’Brien 83), Finnan, Reid, O’Shea, Duff (McGeady 77), Doyle (Elliott 79), Keane.

Ireland 0 Germany 0 – World Cup qualifier, Croke Park, October 13, 2007

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13 months on, Stan was still in a job despite a humiliating defeat to Cyprus and narrow win over minnows San Marino. Germany only needed a point to secure their place at the finals in South Africa, while anything other than a win would mean a lengthy summer off for the Irish players. Mario Gomez was close to scoring early on and Steve Finnan cleared from a Christoph Metzelder header while Keane got his attempted chip all wrong after beating the offside trap.

Ireland: Given, Finnan, Kelly, J O’Brien, Dunne, Carsley, Reid, Keogh (McGeady 80), Doyle (Long 70), Keane, Kilbane (Murphy 92).

Germany: Lehmann, Arne Friedrich, Fritz, Jansen, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Frings, Schweinsteiger (Rolfes 18), Trochowski (Castro 90), Gomez (Podolski 64), Kuranyi.

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