Republic of Ireland – Shay Given
After comprehensively beating Estonia in the Euro 2012 playoffs, the memories of THAT handball by Thierry Henry will have been banished, for now at least.
Ireland have Giovanni Trapattoni to thank for their qualification. The Italian has done an excellent job with the Irish and has worked wonders given the resources at his disposal.
Trapattoni was rightly rewarded with a new two-year contract following the countries qualification for the tournament.
Trapattoni will have a bit of a point to prove after managing Italy a decade ago. The Ireland boss comes up against his home nation and hope the experienced players in his squad can defy the odds and snatch second place in the group.
Shay Given holds the record for most Irish international caps and will be very busy in the three group games. Given is a fantastic ‘keeper who really deserves some success in his club career. There aren’t many better shot stoppers around and his club connection to defender Richard Dunne will be crucial.
The spine of the Irish squad holds a wealth of experience and they are a group that have played together for years. Given along with Damien Duff, Kevin Kilbane and Robbie Keane all appeared in Ireland’s last tournament appearance in 2002 in Korea and Japan.
Ireland have to be realistic in their expectations. They have been handed a tough group but should look to avoid bottom spot. If they can pick up a win in their first game against Croatia then you never know.