Irish underdogs

McCarthy relies on Keanes, team balance

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) -- According to the experts, the Irish shouldn't have been good enough to go to the World Cup. Headed for Japan, Mick McCarthy's unheralded but well-balanced squad is relishing the chance to upset the conventional wisdom once again.

Ireland, which reached the quarterfinals on its maiden trip to the World Cup in 1990, this time faces an uphill struggle to get out of a group that includes powerful Germany and African champions Cameroon.

But the Irish are brimming with confidence after overcoming a similar obstacle in their qualifying group, knocking out talent-laden Holland and going undefeated, losing out to group winners Portugal only on goal difference.

Ireland's one undisputed star, captain and Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane, has recovered from a hamstring injury that had threatened to keep him out of action until the World Cup, and the striker will be ready for the team's June 1 kickoff against Cameroon.

"Roy is the steel and the soul, the field general. We need him, and we'll have him," says McCarthy, a one-time bruising defender who captained Ireland in the 1990 World Cup.

World Cup posters adorning Dublin streets picture a stern-eyed Keane bedecked head to toe in a samurai warrior's armor and sword drawn. But McCarthy has assembled around Keane a roster full of dependable role players drawn from the top two tiers of English professional football.

And much like his players, McCarthy has visibly grown into his job, gathering confidence and stature with each success.

Hired six years ago at age 37, the English-born son of Irish parents had exceptionally little managerial experience. He had been coaching a first-division English club, Millwall, since 1991 that was about to be relegated.

In Ireland he was replacing a national hero, Jack Charlton, a blunt-talking Yorkshireman who had shaped Ireland into soccer contenders for the first time in history.

Charlton's teams favored a defensive-minded approach that conceded few goals but offered uninspiring football in return, featuring a lone striker up front. McCarthy shook things up, switching to a more traditional 4-4-2 configuration and bringing in untested youngsters -- and losing playoffs to qualify for World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000.

But McCarthy's mix has suddenly matured into a more entertaining consistency, particularly at home, where the Irish boast an 11-match unbeaten streak stretching back two years.

The strength remains on defense, where the net is guarded by Shay Given of Newcastle United, recently voted by England's players as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.

At right back is Steve Finnan of Fulham, also voted to the Premier League's all-star team, who boasts the speed and aggression to surge downfield unexpectedly and create scoring chances off crosses.

At left back, Ian Harte of Leeds United is sometimes caught napping on defense but often makes up for it as the team's free-kick specialist, with eight goals in 39 caps.

Charlton's one-time lone striker, 35-year-old Niall Quinn of Sunderland, still poses a towering threat to opposing goalkeepers, largely because of his lanky 6-foot-5 frame. He is Ireland's all-time scoring leader with 21 goals in 88 caps.

But increasingly the offensive focus is on the faster, younger feet of winger Damien Duff, 23, whose pace up the left side leaves defenders twisting in the wind, and 21-year-old striker Robbie Keane, no relation to the captain.

McCarthy thinks the younger Keane, who appears eager for action after largely warming the bench this season at Leeds, could be the key to Irish success. He already has 10 goals in 31 caps and, says the coach, "is coming good at the right time."

"We have relied heavily on Robbie, and it is nice for him that he is coming to the peak of his form when we are off to the World Cup," McCarthy said. "If he is physically and mentally right he will show what a good player he is, on the biggest of stages."

 

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