Bieber bigs up the Boys in Green after win

Justin Bieber has congratulated, his “brother Keano and the Irish Squad” for beating World Champions Germany 1-0 last night on home soil.

But somehow the idea that he’s chummy with former Coventry striker Keane just doesn’t seem quite right, even if the Ireland captain does now ply his trade in the glamorous surroundings of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Shane Long’s 70th-minute victor, coupled with Poland’s 2-2 draw in Scotland, left the Germans, the Poles and the Irish all heading into Sunday’s final round of fixtures as possible winners of Group D.

He said: “It’s something that we believed that we could do anyway from the start”.

I think we would have taken a draw if it had been offered but now we go to Warsaw knowing that a win will give us second place in the group. They could qualify automatically if victory is secured against Poland on Sunday.

And is that Roy Keane saying the line about “world champions” in the background?

We can’t see him being a big Bieber fan, somehow. However, manager Martin O’Neill has been boosted by the return of defenders Seamus Coleman and Marc Wilson from hamstring and calf problems respectively.