Republic of Ireland and Scotland prepare for next Euro 2012 test
When the qualifying groups for Euro 2012 were announced, Republic of Ireland would have been rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of welcoming Andorra to the Aviva Stadium.
On Tuesday night, they’ll have their chance to boost their goal difference, as the tiny principality’s national side travels to Dublin, braced for another international defeat.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s team recorded their first win of the qualification campaign last Friday against Armenia, and now bid to make it two in two against the Andorrans, who have never qualified for a European Championship.
Keith Fahey netted the winning goal against Armenia in Yerevan last week, but the Birmingham City midfielder was quick to offer a cautionary warning to his Ireland teammates ahead of their next qualifier.
"If we win, it will be a nice start to the group," said Fahey. "But all international games are tough, and they will be hard to break down."
The old cliché that no matches at international level are easy does ring true to a certain extent, but hosting Andorra at home is the closest Ireland are ever going to come to a straight-forward qualifier.
Meanwhile, Scotland are also expected to win on Tuesday evening against Liechtenstein, who currently sit bottom of Group I after a 4-0 defeat against Spain.
Compared to Ireland, the Scots are under more pressure to win their second qualifier after drawing 0-0 against Lithuania last Friday. With Czech Republic yet to play their first qualifier, and the Spaniards virtually guaranteed to finish top of the group, Scotland know that sealing maximum points against Liechtenstein is now imperative.
But despite their need to get some points on the board, quickly, anything other than a Scottish victory at Hampden Park would undoubtedly be an embarrassing result. Not only that, but Scotland would then face an overwhelming task to ensure qualification for their first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup finals.
Manager Craig Levein is looking for his second win since taking charge of the national team, and will be relying on his captain, Darren Fletcher, to produce a talismanic performance in Glasgow.
The tenacious central-midfielder will win his 50th cap against Liechtenstein and, at 26 years old, has been tipped to emulate one of Scotland’s most prestigious names, Kenny Dalglish, and end his career with over 100 caps to his name.
For Fletcher, this isn’t about personal achievements, though, this is about Scotland winning their first Euro 2012 qualifier.
"If we can get three points [against Liechtenstein] and then four points from the two games, then it's a satisfactory start and it's not too bad a position from then on," Fletcher told the Daily Mail.
"Anything other than that is disastrous towards qualifying."
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