Niall Kelly reports from Warsaw
MAYBE YOU HEAR what you want to hear, but behind all of the bravado coming from the Polish camp, there was the merest hint of a team — and a nation — under pressure.
Adam Nawalka’s side are still in the driving seat when it comes to automatic qualification but from an early position of strength, their grip has loosened.
Remember, this is the team that set the tone in Group D by putting seven past Gibraltar in their opening game and then beating world champions Germany.
But it’s fair to say they haven’t had an outstanding result this year.
Wins at home to Georgia and Gibraltar, comfortable as they were, were to be expected. Sandwiched in between them was a 3-1 defeat in Frankfurt as the Germans finally shook their World Cup hangover.
The circumstances of Shane Long’s late leveller back in March represent two valuable points dropped on the road rather than one gained, as it might have seemed beforehand.
And given the stakes in Hampden Park on Thursday, it was disappointing that they needed a late bailout from the most dangerous man in football right now, Robert Lewandowski.
Nawalka, like Martin O’Neill, yesterday reminded us that this has been one of the tougher groups to navigate.
“Every result is possible,” he said — not that it makes Ireland’s win against Germany any less stunning.
But on home turf, in front of a packed and noisy National Stadium, only one result will be acceptable tonight.
“We will do our job,” Nawalka promised.
This is “an exceptional game,” said veteran defender Jakub Wawrzyniak. “We know what’s at stake.”
Perhaps the most pressure is on Artur Sobiech. It looks increasingly likely that he will be the man asked to deputise for young Ajax livewire Arkadiusz Milik who has six goals and six assists in qualification but misses tonight’s game with a hip injury.
“I will handle my responsibilities,” he said. “I know what is at stake and I’m pretty sure I will give 100% and do everything I can in order to meet your expectations.”
Contrast that mood with an Irish camp which has been invigorated and given renewed focus by shocking the world champions.
The job is by no means complete. Ireland still need to take one last leap, either tonight or in the playoffs, to guarantee their place at Euro 2016.
But, if the latest reports are true, the FAI bosses have already seen enough to know that they want O’Neill and his management team to stay on and lead this team towards the 2018 World Cup.
When the deck was stacked against them earlier this week, O’Neill said that he would be happy to take his chance in the playoff.
Those circumstances have changed now.
But while Poland labour under the weight of expectation, Ireland are fuelled by optimism and a desire to make the German win a truly meaningful one.
Around Warsaw, the army of travelling fans slowly unveils itself, the splashes of green becoming more and more frequent.
One team with everything to lose; one with everything to gain.
