The Republic of Ireland found themselves committed to a high-risk programme after dates and venues for games in Group Two of World Cup qualifying had been thrashed out in a marathon meeting at Amsterdam yesterday.

In a stark reversal of normal priorities, they will play their two most difficult games, in Holland and Portugal, at the start of their schedule.

It is the first time in more than 60 years that Ireland have opened their qualifying programme for either the World Cup or European Championship with two games away from home. The decision to take this route may either be breathtaking in its audacity or damning in its naivety.

Effectively Ireland's hopes of qualifying for the finals could be irreparably damaged by the time they get to play their first home game against Estonia on October 11th after visiting Holland on September 2nd and Portugal on October 7th.

Traditionally the priority has been to bank early points, not merely to boost squad morale but to ensure that commercial and public interests are sustained. With sponsorships in place and guarantees of sell-outs for big competitive fixtures, the latter consideration is scarcely applicable in the modern era.

Morale remains as vital as ever, however, and in that context major reservations must be attached to Ireland's programme and their ability to recover in the event of it all going wrong at the start.

It could be argued that since Holland and Portugal are both involved in the Euro 2000 finals in the summer, they could be vulnerable when they re-apply themselves to the pressures of qualifying within a couple of months of finishing a major tournament. Conversely, if they do well in the European competition they may prove that much more difficult to beat.

There is a gap of just four days between the game in Portugal and the home meeting with Estonia. The Irish restart their programme in 2001 with two more away fixtures, in Cyprus on March 24th and Andorra four days later.

With four of their last five games at home, Ireland will be in good shape if they are still competitive at the halfway point. The second scenario scarcely bears contemplation.

In the absence of Mick McCarthy, the Irish delegation at the Amsterdam meeting was comprised of Pat Quigley, Des Casey and Bernard O'Byrne and afterwards both Quigley and O'Byrne were curiously upbeat.

"We had a meeting with Mick McCarthy before we left for Amsterdam and we knew the direction we should try to take when it came to today's meeting," said Quigley. "I think at the end of what was a marathon session we are extremely happy with the way things worked out.

O'Byrne was equally enthusiastic. "It was a long, hard session, but I think we have to say that the arrangements we have come up with will be pleasing and satisfactory to everybody," he said.

Catching that optimistic mood, Mick McCarthy last night said: "I accept there is a risk involved, but even if we lose those two early games - and I'm not saying we will - we can still catch up. Theoretically at least we can lose the games in Holland and Portugal but still qualify by winning all our remaining games."

McCarthy's Northern Ireland counterpart Sammy McIlroy is banking on his side making a flying start to their qualifying campaign after they opted to play Malta at home first.

The new Northern manager hopes his side can beat the Maltese in their opening Group Three fixture on September 2nd, which would set them up nicely for their second match against Denmark at Windsor Park on October 7th.

McIlroy, who was appointed as Lawrie McMenemy's successor at the beginning of the month, wants his players to build up as much momentum as possible early on to give them some chance of making an impact on the group.

"I'm quite happy to play Malta first because it gives us a great opportunity to get a result under our belts ready for the Denmark game," he said. "Then with a big crowd at Windsor Park and the game coming up early in the campaign, we could get something. "In saying that, I'm not underestimating Malta and we can't with the record we've got. But if we could just beat Malta that could give us a great confidence boost going into the Denmark game."

Northern Ireland's qualification hopes are remote at best and as well as Malta and Denmark they must play the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Iceland.

England will launch their qualifying campaign with a home tie against their main Group Nine rivals Germany on October 7th.

As coach Kevin Keegan wanted, the campaign will also finish on home soil just under a year later on October 6th, 2001 when they host Greece.

With Wembley closed due to redevelopment, the venues for England's home games are yet to be decided but will be chosen from Old Trafford, St James' Park, Villa Park, Anfield and possibly Elland Road. Keegan believes bringing the games to regional venue will help. "The last problem we're going to have is the crowd getting behind us. I think all of the games will be sold out and the atmospheres will be terrific," he said.