The Irish prepare for France showdown

Ger Corrigan from Corrigan Brothers has sent us an email to tell us about the band’s new song “Here’s to Trapattoni”, which was written to support the Irish team in its quest for a South Africa World Cup place. The Irish team qualified for the Second Round play-offs and was drawn against 1998 World Champions France. On paper, the French squad looks stronger, but one should not underestimate the power of the Irish national team, led by Italian head coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Trapattoni has achieved a lot since he started his managerial career in 1974, winning the league in four different countries (Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria). Ireland ranked 2nd in Group 8 of the qualifiers, 6 points behind group winners Italy. The Italians are urging the Irish to beat France, as a huge rivalry exists between the head coach’s nation and the French.

 

The two play-off matches which will decide if Ireland go through will be played on the 14th November ar home stadium Croke Park, and on the 18th November at away stadium in Saint-Denis. For the first encounter, the Irish will wear their green home shirt manuactured by Umbro, while the away white shirt will be worn in France. It is expected that should the Irish make it through the play-off stage, Umbro will design a special new shirt for the World Cup, as the current shirt runs expires in 2010. The French have already revealed the shirt they hope to be wearing in South Africa, but they should not get too excited as Ireland stand in the way blocking a clear passage to the World Cup. They must beat the Irish national team’s power in order to call their new shirt the ‘France 2010 World Cup shirt’.

Can Ireland beat the French?