Norwich City’s Celts prepare to fight for Euro 2016 bragging rights

Ireland nicked a valuable point when they played Germany away previous year – John O’Shea netting an injury-time equaliser but O’Neill believes Germany are a different beast now as it came so soon after their World Cup heroics in Brazil.

Three key players are out for Scotland, with regular starter James Morrison, winger Ikechi Anya and versatile defender Charlie Mulgrew all on the sidelines.

“Both ourselves and the Republic have to play Poland, so it looks like they will be the deciding games”.

Furthermore, the Irish have only lost one game thus far in the qualifiers, when they visited Scotland back in November a year ago. Midfielder Glenn Whelan is suspended, while Seamus Coleman has been ruled out.

With Ireland due to face Germany as early asThursday, 8th October, Coleman’s fitness is in serious doubt.

These are crucial two matches for the Ireland, but they head into the pivotal week with a much-depleted squad.

Poland and the Republic could, theoretically at least, still finish in any position from first to fourth, while all Scotland are shooting for now is third place and a play-off spot. We will get a chance to play and we have to try and take the chances we create. The best third-placed team (as of now Ukraine) enters directly into the tournament. “When you start winning games, then confidence is coming in, and that’s always good”. “But we will be ready”.

“If Poland go into that game needing a result then they could be very nervous and we have nothing to lose. But it is also possible that the Irish, despite this, will be more defensively oriented”. “Even the world class players of Germany, who have witnessed a few of the cauldrons of European football, will get a shock when the Aviva Stadium erupts”. They have a four-point lead over 3rd-place Ireland.

The reverse match between these teams ended in a 1-1 draw in Gelsenkirchen on 14 October 2014.

Euro 2016 will comprise of 24 teams: hosts France, plus 23 others.

Ireland have only qualified for one major tournament since their unfortunate penalty shootout defeat by Spain in the Round of 16 in South Korea at the 2002 World Cup, but the anticipation that followed Ireland to Poland in 2012 turned into embarrassment. The most confusing and accidental qualifying campaign for Ireland in a generation may be about to end in a play-off appearance and a shot at France next summer.

The European Championships in 2016 were supposed to be easy to reach for Ireland. On 29 May 1994, the Irish won 2-0 in a friendly at Hannover (Tony Cascarino and Gary Kelly).

The German national team are going to go through with Georgia their last game and it might depend on how convincing they want to be and I think they will win, but it will be a narrow one.

Germany have put together a run of five successive victories scoring 19 goals and conceding just 3 in the process.