Exercise in futility offers little

Today's game against Sweden, attractive though it may seem on paper, has to be weighed against the fact that in April, international friendly matches mean nothing.

While I don't wish to appear pessimistic about the fixture, the fact remains that it is an exercise in futility when considered as anything other than entertainment and maybe as a platform for fringe players to catch the eye. In terms of the bigger picture, Mick McCarthy will draw nothing from this, nor will his Swedish counterpart, Tommy Soderberg.

It really is time for UEFA to just write off the notion of friendly games at this time of year, when the focus is firmly on the club scene. Ireland's next scheduled friendly, against Northern Ireland on May 29th, will be infinitely more valuable to the team. Manchester United will have completed their season, climaxing with the Champions League campaign and the other clubs will be a week into their period of recess. Mick McCarthy can get a full squad together, prepare properly and implement a game plan he may use against the Yugoslavs and the Macedonians, should those matches ever go ahead.

These times are particularly vexing for the Irish manager and he is handling what must be an extremely frustrating situation as well as can be expected. Never before have I witnessed a group in which the off-field dynamics may have greater consequences than what occurs during the games. In comparison to the sheer awfulness of the Balkan crisis, the uncertainty which hangs over Ireland's Group Eight seems like an irrelevant aside, but within a sporting context, the teams involved do have a right to know what is going on.

The outcome of Ireland's previous scheduled game against Macedonia, which was effectively cancelled by Aer Lingus, was farcical and does much to reveal the operational nous of the dinosaurs responsible for the mechanisms of UEFA.

At the moment, UEFA are obviously trying to sit tight and see if there is some sort of resolution to the political situation, but as the scheduled dates draw nearer they are going to have to make a firm decision, be it the option of neutral venues or the elimination of Yugoslavia from the group. And the longer the conflict drags on, the less interested the Balkan countries are going to be in matters as trivial as soccer.

So Ireland line out today with little to play for, other than pride and the natural benefits of a positive performance. I suppose the most newsworthy angle has been the inclusion of Tottenham's Stephen Carr after about three years of consistent Premiership service. I have to admit that I was one of Carr's most vehement critics when he first made the breakthrough at White Hart Lane. It seemed to me that after glowing with promise with the reserves, he went into terminal regression under Christian Gross. He resembled a defender patently unsure of what his brief was and I keep waiting for him to be exposed. But he has really proven all those doubts redundant since George Graham arrived. I think Graham walked into this young man's life at precisely the right time. The penny just seemed to drop and now he looks like an accomplished, mobile steady defender and while he may have to wait in the shadows a while longer at international level, Steve Staunton and Denis Irwin won't be around forever, so who knows?

It's definitely a noteworthy occasion for Carr and also for occasional players like Mark Kennedy and David Connolly, who might forge an interesting tandem with Niall Quinn. Alan McLoughlin, of course makes another appearance, entering the twilight of a career which was always stop-start at international level. But whenever Alan has been given his chance to shine, he has invariably delivered and it is always good to see him featuring.

Looking at the long-term picture, the make-up of the Irish midfield has more or less defined itself and the central axis of Roy Keane and Mark Kinsella has all but been cemented.

Keane continues to operate at a peerless sphere and his worth to Ireland is just inestimable. He is this team's soul and driving force and if Ireland are to make it to the finals of Euro 2000, his input will be the most relevant.

Which is why the sight of an Irish team lining out at Lansdowne Road without him represents something of a nonentity. This is not to slight the players named - McCarthy has picked a reasonably balanced side which will compete, and then some - but ultimately, whatever transpires will have be of little consequence.

Similarly, the Swedes will pick a weakened team. They are already without Magnus Hedman, Fredrik Lungberg and Johan Mjallby and it's a bit of surprise that Henrik Larsson is here, given the magnitude of the Celtic-Rangers game on Sunday. Larsson, though, has been having such a flowing, injury-free season that he obviously just wants to keep playing football.

For the 90 minutes, then, expect reasonably tight football. I saw the Swedes earlier in the season - admittedly against Luxembourg - and they play a very efficient brand of direct football. Ireland should be able to sweep up, even if the absence of Keane and Irwin may leave us a little more exposed than normal. Duff and Robbie Keane are on the bench, so McCarthy has options if we suffer for inventiveness.

As the pun goes, either side could win this or it could be a draw. Point is, none of it really matters. If both managers send their players off without any injuries, that in itself will be result enough. Then, in a few weeks' time, normal business can be resumed.

In an interview with Keith Duggan.