Mick McCarthy's quiet show of satisfaction almost certainly reflected the feelings of the bulk of the team's followers after the Republic of Ireland were drawn against Belgium in the World Cup play-offs. The first leg of the tie will be played at Lansdowne Road on October 29th with the return set for the Stade Roi Baudouin in Brussels on November 15th.

It will be the first meeting of the countries in World Cup competition since the game in the old stadium in 1981 when a notorious refereeing decision cost Ireland victory and, ultimately, a place in the finals of the championship in Spain the following year.

Although at pains to stress that he was not selling the Belgians short, McCarthy said that it might have been a lot worse. "When you think of some of the places we could have ended up in, you have to agree that it's not a bad draw for us," he said.

"This is not to suggest that Belgium are a bad team. Quite clearly, they're not: for if you look at the various qualifying tables, I think you'll discover that they were the third best of the second placed teams, behind Scotland and Italy.

"I'm not too pushed about having to travel for the second game. We're all seasoned travellers by now and Brussels is by no means the most intimidating of cities for visiting teams.

"It's nice to be travelling there rather than say, the Ukraine. I wasn't fancying the idea of going and playing the game in sub-zero temperatures and on playing surfaces which are not the best.

"Besides, I believe that we'll have great support for the game in Brussels and that's going to be important. All in all, I'm not too unhappy about playing there."

Belgium, long acknowledged among the more formidable European footballing nations, finished just three points adrift of the table toppers Holland in Group Eight. Given that the Dutch beat them home and away, winning 3-0 in Brussels and 3-1 in the second leg game in Rotterdam, that was, perhaps, a fair indication of the relative merits of the two teams.

There are those who believe that Belgium are no longer the force they once were but that should be measured against the fact that they went to Turkey, one of the most hostile places in the world for visiting teams, and won 1-0. And the merit of that performance is put in perspective by the Turks' achievement in winning their home game against Holland, the only flaw in an otherwise perfect programme for the Dutch.

Earlier this year, Belgium were comprehensively beaten 3-0 in a friendly game by Northern Ireland in Belfast, a chastening start to the reign of Georges Leekens who had been appointed to replace Wilifried Van Moer as manager only weeks earlier.

After a faltering start to their World Cup programme, they quickly generated real momentum under Leekens's leadership and, significantly, the news that they had drawn Ireland was greeted with some enthusiasm by their representatives at yesterday's meeting.

Pat Quigley, the FAI president, headed the Irish delegation which included Bernard O'Byrne and Brendan Menton Jnr and later said he was happy with the draw.

"Our supporters have been a big part of our success story in recent years and a game in Brussels will suit them much better than say one in the Ukraine or Croatia," said Quigley.

Typically, for a FIFA production, the draw in a Swiss television studio, was a complicated affair with each of the eight countries involved, participating in an initial lottery to determine if they would have home advantage in the first game.

In the event, Ireland was one of those to be so favoured. Leonard Johannsen, UEFA's president, and the former French World Cup player, Michel Platini, a prominent member of the organising committee of France '98, drew out the numbers which ordained that Ireland would meet Belgium.

McCarthy, who followed the draw on RTE Radio One, at a hotel in Dublin, betrayed no emotion on hearing the news. "Like everybody else, perhaps, I had preferences but I'm not saying what they were," he said. "But I will concede that I'm happy not to be going to Russia, Croatia or the Ukraine."

Asked about the likely attitude of his players to the draw, he said: "I don't think they'll be too bothered. In fact, some of them are probably too young to worry about going there.

"Wales, of course, were in the same qualifying group as Belgium and I will be checking up on the Belgians' strengths and weaknesses with the Welsh manager, Bobby Gould. For the next couple of weeks or so, Bobby will be joining our staff as an honorary consultant."

The weekend before the Dublin game is not a closed one in the FA Premiership and the Ireland manager surprised nobody when he said that he will be invoking FIFA's five-day rule governing the release of players for competitive international games.

"I am bringing my players in on the Friday evening before the game and on this occasion at least, there will be no exceptions made," he said. "In the past I've gone out of my way to co-operate with club managers but this time, the stakes are too high to permit any concessions."