NATHAN COLLINS BELIEVES the manner of the Republic of Ireland’s emphatic 2-0 win over Portugal can be the catalyst for securing a World Cup play-off.
The Boys in Green travel to Hungary in their final qualifier on Sunday knowing victory will see them leapfrog the side currently in second place.
Troy Parrott’s fine brace of goals, allied with Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card, ensured Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side head to Hungary with a defined mission.
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And Collins is adamant turning over Portugal in the manner they did has given them renewed hope.
“If we can do that, we can beat anyone. I think it’s good that it’s simplified it for us. We just need to win. Nothing else, no other strings attached. Just go win a match, a game of football.
“I’ve said it before, I always thought we had this in us and that’s the most frustrating part when we lose because we know we have this in us. And that’s where it hurts the most.
Today wasn’t about, shutting anyone up, it wasn’t about any of that. It was about us, team, fans and just giving ourselves a chance on Sunday.
“We have to take confidence from this. It’ll be a completely different game [in Hungary], completely different team, away from home, it’s a bit different again. But we have a threat we know what we have to do and it’s simple now. It was so complicated for us before, but now it’s simple enough.”
On Ronaldo’s sending off, after he swung an elbow at Dara O’Shea, Collins said: “I didn’t see it. Dara isn’t one to go down soft, that’s twice now he’s done Doss (O’Shea). I was saying to the ref, listen, everyone needs to be calm here.
“There’s a lot of emotions on the line, the crowd, everyone involved. And everyone needs to stay calm because this game could go on anywhere. And I thought, we as a team, we’ve done that. I think we stayed calm in them moments, we frustrated them and that’s what happened really.”
Ronaldo carried understandable confidence about winning the game during his pre-match press conference, even if a point would have sufficed for them to top the group.
“Did he say that? He wanted to qualify, that was their easy run then, they could go on holiday probably. It didn’t really get to us. We knew we were going to do it, we knew we had a job to do.
“Horrible is a weird word in football because the game’s gone where you can’t be horrible and you can be nasty and stuff like that. I think it’s gone so you have to be horrible in a different way and force them into tough areas and make them uncomfortable.
“But then that horribleness also counters when you go forward and making them run backwards and making them sprint back and having to defend. So there’s two ways of doing it. But I think with that attacking poise today, I thought that’s what brought the fans in the most.”
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'That was their easy run, they could go on holiday probably' - Nathan Collins savours Portugal win
NATHAN COLLINS BELIEVES the manner of the Republic of Ireland’s emphatic 2-0 win over Portugal can be the catalyst for securing a World Cup play-off.
The Boys in Green travel to Hungary in their final qualifier on Sunday knowing victory will see them leapfrog the side currently in second place.
Troy Parrott’s fine brace of goals, allied with Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card, ensured Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side head to Hungary with a defined mission.
And Collins is adamant turning over Portugal in the manner they did has given them renewed hope.
“If we can do that, we can beat anyone. I think it’s good that it’s simplified it for us. We just need to win. Nothing else, no other strings attached. Just go win a match, a game of football.
“I’ve said it before, I always thought we had this in us and that’s the most frustrating part when we lose because we know we have this in us. And that’s where it hurts the most.
Today wasn’t about, shutting anyone up, it wasn’t about any of that. It was about us, team, fans and just giving ourselves a chance on Sunday.
“We have to take confidence from this. It’ll be a completely different game [in Hungary], completely different team, away from home, it’s a bit different again. But we have a threat we know what we have to do and it’s simple now. It was so complicated for us before, but now it’s simple enough.”
On Ronaldo’s sending off, after he swung an elbow at Dara O’Shea, Collins said: “I didn’t see it. Dara isn’t one to go down soft, that’s twice now he’s done Doss (O’Shea). I was saying to the ref, listen, everyone needs to be calm here.
“There’s a lot of emotions on the line, the crowd, everyone involved. And everyone needs to stay calm because this game could go on anywhere. And I thought, we as a team, we’ve done that. I think we stayed calm in them moments, we frustrated them and that’s what happened really.”
Ronaldo carried understandable confidence about winning the game during his pre-match press conference, even if a point would have sufficed for them to top the group.
“Did he say that? He wanted to qualify, that was their easy run then, they could go on holiday probably. It didn’t really get to us. We knew we were going to do it, we knew we had a job to do.
“Horrible is a weird word in football because the game’s gone where you can’t be horrible and you can be nasty and stuff like that. I think it’s gone so you have to be horrible in a different way and force them into tough areas and make them uncomfortable.
“But then that horribleness also counters when you go forward and making them run backwards and making them sprint back and having to defend. So there’s two ways of doing it. But I think with that attacking poise today, I thought that’s what brought the fans in the most.”
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2026 world cup qualifiers culmination Nathan Collins Republic Of Ireland Soccer