The footballers of Ireland and Scotland are working on the basis that, as in the old Highlander movie, there can be only one. With Germany and Poland also jostling for qualification from the most difficult group on the continent, it seems unlikely that the Scots and the Irish will both reach the 2016 European Championships. So their showdown at Celtic Park on Friday night has the makings of an epic duel.
“It’s massive,” said the Ireland striker Shane Long. “It could – and I might be over-reacting here – really make or break how we get on in this campaign. If we don’t get beaten there, it will go a long way towards us qualifying.”
Although Germany have made a stuttering start to their campaign – losing in Poland and conceding a draw at home to Ireland thanks to John O’Shea’s last-minute equaliser in October – Long still expects the world champions to take one of the two automatic qualification berths, making the matches against Scotland critical. Each country will have six games left after this one to build on, or make up for, ground won or lost on Friday but it would be difficult for either to recover from defeat. “I think we always looked at the campaign with Scotland and Poland being our biggest enemies, our biggest competition, in getting that second space – so these games are big for us and we know that.”
It is the first competitive meeting between the neighbours for 27 years. The last one in Glasgow resulted in a 1-0 Irish win that launched an era of unprecedented success for a country then managed by Jack Charlton. Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan, both in their first full campaigns in charge of their teams, will be hoping for something similar. The Irish are well aware that Scotland have been playing with a new confidence under Strachan. “Scotland have really upped their game [over] the last couple of years and they will see this as a chance to get three points as well,” said Long. “It’s going to be a massive occasion and one I’m really eager to be a part of.”
Whether or not to make Long part of the starting XI is one of several selection issues facing O’Neill. The striker arrives in encouraging form, having scored his first two Premier League goals for Southampton at the weekend, but O’Neill is expected to deploy Robbie Keane as a lone striker, the savviness of the 34-year-old Los Angeles Galaxy striker seemingly giving him an edge over younger, more mobile forwards. That means Long and Jonathan Walters are most likely to be sprung from the bench while Crystal Palace’s Kevin Doyle has pulled out of the squad due to injury.
O’Neill also must ponder the make-up of the rest of his team’s spine, with an adjustment necessary in central defence due to the hamstring injury to Marc Wilson. Aston Villa’s Ciaran Clark is considered the most likely partner for O’Shea. Left-back Stephen Ward sat out training as a precaution but is expected to be fit for Friday.
Doubts surround Ireland’s central midfield, with the manager considering deploying Glenn Whelan even though the Stoke City player has not featured for his club since fracturing a leg against Germany a month ago. Whelan trained in Dublin on Tuesday but O’Neill admits to having reservations about the player’s readiness to be cast straight into a high-intensity qualifier. The decision may depend on the availability of Everton’s James McCarthy, who did not train on Tuesday due to hamstring trouble. “I really wouldn’t know if he’ll be fit at the moment,” said O’Neill.
If McCarthy is fit in time, he is sure to start and will likely be targeted for derision by Scotland fans, as will Aiden McGeady. Both players were born in Scotland and represented that country at youth level before ultimately declaring for the land of their forefathers. The former Scotland international Gordon McQueen joined calls for home fans to give both players a “horrible” reception on Friday but the Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given believes such sentiments are unjustified but does not envisage the players being bothered.
“You could go around every country in Europe and say there are players born in different countries who are playing for them, so I did think it was unfair,” said Given. “You can go through the Scottish squad as well and see some of their players not being born in Scotland – that’s not having a go at them, they are the rules of Fifa or whatever – so I did think it was unfair on both Aiden and James. I have not really spoken to them about it, to be honest, but I know they are very talented players and they will be looking forward to going back to Glasgow as well and putting in a performance.”
