McCarthy places his faith in Duff

Damien Duff was yesterday offered the chance of short-cutting his apprenticeship in international football when he was named on the Republic of Ireland team to play Yugoslavia in the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade this evening.

In a selection which surprised many, Mick McCarthy has opted to go with the emerging Blackburn player rather than accommodate Jeff Kenna in a rearranged formation.

Alan McLoughlin, as anticipated, gets the midfield vacancy occasioned by the absence of Lee Carsley with Niall Quinn undertaking probably the most arduous task of the game as a one-man strike force.

For Duff, it's a chance of getting his international career back on schedule after being substituted in the game against Croatia and only rarely taking a leading role in the 5-0 success over Malta.

There are those who believe that he lacks the physical presence for a heavyweight struggle such as this and that his pedigree fits him more for a strategy geared to attack than the challenge of grafting in defence.

McCarthy obviously included those doubts in the equation and came up with a formation which he stresses in not geared to all-out defence. "Discipline and awareness at the back are, of course, fundamental but it's also important that we try and put some pressure on their defence.

"Damien has done alright for us so far. He has a good background in the Premiership and he'll not be put off too much by the pressures which every player on the park will feel.

"I also looked at Keith O'Neill, of course, but he's only played in bits of games in recent weeks. It could be that he'll make a bigger impact if I bring him on at some stage - not that I've picked the team on that assumption."

On the other option of posting Steve Staunton in midfield and deploying Kenna and Denis Irwin at full back, he said: "I've always believed that Steve's best position is left back. That is where he can be of most value to the team."

This is Yugoslavia's first home game since the World Cup warm-up against Hungary in May and they see it as an opportunity to show that they under-achieved when going out in the last 16 in the World Cup finals in France.

Since the World Cup they have acquired a new coach, Milan Zivadinovic, and despite their early World Cup exit, illustrated their claims to a place among the best teams in the world by going to Brazil in September and drawing 1-1.

To subdue a team which he believes will compete abrasively, Zivadinovic will send out a side which includes six Spanish-based players, two each from Italian and Portuguese clubs, and the veteran Dragan Stojkovic who plays with FC Nagoya in Japan.

Zivadinovic is undecided between Savo Milosevic and Darko Kovacevic for the task of partnering Predag Mijatovic in the front line. Milosevic, the former Aston Villa player who now wears the colours of Real Zaragoza, is the more experienced of the pair but many consider that Kovacevic's superior ability in the air will earn him the vote.

For Ireland, the doubts centre on Gary Breen's ability to control the penalty area in tandem with Kenny Cunningham and Duff's ability to prove that he has the maturity and the self belief to stretch the home defence.

It is, too, a searching challenge for Mark Kinsella, who has grown in status in just four international appearances but is now perhaps a fitness risk on a heavy sodden surface which will put a premium on stamina.

The pluses will be Shay Given's confident goal-keeping, the big-match know-how of Irwin and Staunton, Quinn's capacity for work and, most important of all, the leadership of Roy Keane.

It is Keane's responsibility to protect the central defenders and if he succeeds the expected early onslaught by Yugoslavia may abate sufficiently to allow Jason McAteer and McLoughlin to link occasionally with Quinn up front.

Only the most optimistic can envisage a win but to leave here with a point would be a result to rank with the best Ireland have achieved in recent years.

Republic Of Ireland (4-5-1): Given (Newcastle); Irwin (Man Utd), Cunningham (Wimbledon), Breen (Coventry), Staunton (Liverpool); McAteer (Liverpool), Kinsella (Charlton), Keane (Man Utd), capt, Duff (Blackburn); Quinn (Sunderland). Subs: To be announced.

Yugoslavia: Krajl (FC Porto); Mihajlovic (Lazio), J Stankovic (Real Mallorca), Djukic (Valencia), Djorovic (Celta Vigo), D Stankovic (Lazio), Jokanovic (Tenerife), Jugovic (Atletico Madrid), Stojkovic (FC Nagoya, Japan), Mijatovic (Real Madrid), Milosevic (Real Zaragoza) or D Kovacevic (Real Sociedad).