Lawal misses out on the 23 man match day squad, along with the suspended Scales.
Lawal misses out on the 23 man match day squad, along with the suspended Scales.
The hype is unreal for this game, its still the team that lost in Armenia and stumbled over the line against Armenia at home. I am not as confident as everyone else it seems and prior to November, I would have expected the Czechs to stroll to a 2-0 win easily and shut up shop at the back as we battled gamely and someone like Molumby got send off late in the game for a second yellow.
Even now I will be delighted if we take them to penalties and have no confidence we will beat the Danes who blew it against Scotland should we make the final.
Spinning a match day thread out of the play off discussion
That's the spirit!! :D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by ltfc_2004
I wouldnt say I am confident but we have a fairly healthy chance today. There is a whole script attached to the Czechs too - turbulence in the domestic game, turbulence between fans and players, a new manager and captain, a possibly dropped captain, key players just coming back to health, pretty average players in certain spots. It is even enough on paper but being away does impact us. If we can show up like we did against Portugal at home and keep concentration levels higher than we did in the first 5-10 mins away to Hungary then it is there for us.
All that said, we are also in bonus territory. Never in a million years back in November did we think we would even be having this conversation. Give it a lash for 90-120 and see what happens!
I think "I am confident but we have a fairly healthy chance today" is a reasonably qualified view! The problems in the Czech camp surely can't hurt us. Kelleher and Parrott are huge players in huge positions. The Czechs lost against the Faroes, then beat San Marino 1-0 (in a friendly). They're a League B side. I think they're favourites. But while you can say we weren't great for long spells in Hungary - or indeed in the qualifying campaign as a whole - we did win in Hungary. And in theory we can pick up a big win again.
Surprised to read that Czechia have only reached one WC in their current manifestation - and that 20 years ago, in Germany.
So we're not playing one of European footballs true superpowers. The Czech's well-documented recent problems also give rise to some feelings of hope, especially compared with the ebullience that now exists around the Irish team.
That said, the suggestion of both Coleman and Ogbene starting down together down he right side - two players who just don't really play football these days - is a major cause of concern.
It's been mooted that Brady (on account of being an OShea/Heimir favourite) may also start, though this seems unlikely to me.
You're going to be lucky to get away with one player with hardly any recent first-team action under his belt, much less two. And to have three in your starting line-up really is pushing it.
the42 have a live blog from Prague in case you didn't feel bad enough about not traveling
https://www.the42.ie/ireland-czechia...995408-Mar2026
I don't think I've ever been less optimistic. I hope that's a good sign. Currently tearing up listening to "Give it a Lash Jack". It's going to be a long evening.
Before the Portugal game maybe?Quote:
Originally Posted by passinginterest
Fair point!! An away win is such a rare thing. We've suddenly got this hope from nowhere but the worry is the last few games papered over the cracks and now it's back to reality. I expect it to be cagey but can't see us winning.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Hard to pick the 11, especially the midfield. I might go for;
Kelleher
Coleman
O'Brien
Collins
O'Shea
Manning
Molumby
Browne
Knight
Azaz
Parrott
I think that leaves a lack of width but a very versatile middle four who more or less all rotate. I'd see Molumby deepest with Browne mostly beside him and Knight and Azaz floating wide and up beside Troy. Could just as easily see Taylor in there for Browne and Ogbene for Knight or Molumby (Knight in the holding role if that happened).
Whatever else you can say about RTE, they know how to do a sporting montage
Even though we're rank outsiders we have the potential to win this one, otherwise why bother watching. We have had plenty of things going our way this campaign, never have we recovered from such a terrible position in a qual group and I think it was merited in the end.
Knight left out is the big call here. Otherwise pretty much as expected.
You'd worry how effective Ogbene will be after a long layoff and a second hamstring injury. But yeah, the team is largely predictable. Let's see how it goes!
I think we are more likely to make hard work of tonight than if we get through. We are much better when there is little expectation!! I still am expecting to concede early and then start playing when we have no choice but to chase the game. It'll be down to a bit of luck and Czech quality to not conceded while throwing everything at getting on terms. We dont do easy so Im expecting to be put through the ringer.
For any of the worries we have, this is where we wanted to be. Its only with hindsight that we know that better result against Armenia and Hungary at home and it could have been better. Before the campaign we hoped for the playoff route football masochists that we are. Here we are!!
Penalties will kill me if thats in the script....
Site is having a shocker today sadly
Really soft penalty but we deserve to be ahead here. Playing well and winning the ball off then handily enough so far
Penalty was dodgy as anything, but IDGAF.
Such a silly penalty to give away, when a ref is itching to give one.
Yeah. He was always going to be looking to give the Czechs one there.
Not that i disagree with the decision. My first reaction was that it was a penalty. Daft from Manning.
Irish peno was a peno but it was also lucky, fractions in the timing between a penalty and nothing in it. Manning giving away that penalty was braindead stuff. No need and just makes it a lot more cagey. Game on rather than being able to squeeze the life out of the game with some dark arts game management. Id wrooy about that Taylor yellow card too.
Entertaining game, frenetic, cup final stuff. But we are a better side, just need to make that count, no stupid errors! Be glad of ht. Settle it down and rest those legs.
The ref is very good with his decisions (so far)
It has the feel of an FA Cup tie now.
O'Shea has been excellect.
Theres an equaliser in this game!
If it wasn't so tense, I'd be enjoying it. It's got a great frenetic pace to it, and the ref is helping itQuote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
We look tired. The euphoria of a goal with the last kick of a game is a haunting thought. ET we could be completely out on our feet. Do you disrupt things and make changes with 10 or 12 mins to go. Ogbene doesnt look like he could hold on to the ball at all 2nd half. Not getting near 2nd ball with kick outs just coming back at us. It will be a massive back to the wall effort, one that will stand to us if we pull it off, 45 mins of it really.
and now we start playing it about as we should really have been when ahead. Maybe the Czechs have burnt themselves out a bit getting level.
It was a mistake to bring in Browne instead of Knight. We were giving the ball away for too much in the second half, weren’t winning 50/50s through the pitch, especially in midfield and not wanting to get on the ball. Browne added very little
Harvey Vale has an opportunity to go down in the annals of Irish sport here.
I'm going to puke
2 shÃte penalty efforts, the so called lottery.
How to hell was Browne given the 5th penalty after missing one in Slovakia at the last play off..
Ridiculous
We were so unlucky with the ball off the post, and an absolutely brilliant save from Parrot..
Did anyone expect Browne to score his? I certainly didn't. As soon as I saw it was him my heart sank. I'm sure he was brave enough to put his hand up and everything, but he should never have been on the last penalty.
Absolutely knew he’d miss it, and so did he!Quote:
Originally Posted by Insidetherock
No, not a bit of it. As soon as I saw Browne place it I knew he wouldn't scoreQuote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
People may see this as a kneejerk reaction but tonight was regression again after stepping up last 2 games. To be 2 up away from and dominating to getting hammered for 45mins, hanging on, and then ultimately lose shows that there is still a brittle weakness in the sporting psyche of this football team. Thats not to say that we haven improved from the previous era at all. There's too often a lack of simple footballing intelligence, Manning giving away that penalty a prime example. A lot of silly frees imo that put us under unnecessary pressure 2nd half also. There is physical and there is not putting your hands on a players back allowing them a soft free. I thought the ref was pretty good in letting the physical game play but the card count early on suggests that he felt Ireland needed to be 'contained' more. This Czech side are not good, i'd argue that we are a good bit better as a unit but let them off the hook. How we were able to get hold of the ball at 2-2 but were pretty aimlessly hitting it long and looking to hang on by jus defending deep haning on to a minimum lead. Theres a balance to this, we havent ever been a side that tends to concentrate and hold out for 90mins with 20% possession like Iceland could back 2016 or so. We always cough up goals eventually when we just sit in. The manager even mentioning penalties prematch worried me . I'll change my tune if the Danes dont qualify now.
So next campaign, expectations will be higher. We cant be running scared of 3rd and 4th seeds that play a little. We may be hosts but it isnt guaranteed yet is it?
Was it just me or should the czech players challenge on szmodics have been looked at more closely?
25 at the last world cup and now pushing 50
I would have never thought....
Ryan manning is a complete clown and it should never be forgotten that his complete meltdown screwed us over,I’m convinced weed have won comfortably but for that,Idiotic
Luck will only take you so far. A lot of confident teams will go 2 nil up and close the game out without fanfare, Ireland are not that kind of team.
I expect Denmark will dispatch chechia without much fuss.
I think where it goes wrong is that we just don't know what to do when we are two nil up. We're two nil up and trying to hit speculative passes into the channels, like we're chasing the game. We should just be looking for the easy pass. We have a ball playing goalkeeper. Use him. Pass the ball back to him. Run the clock down. Game management. Instead they are running around like blue arse flies.