ROY KEANE believes the Irish collective will be enough to see off French flair and seal a World Cup triumph.
The former Republic of Ireland captain has backed Giovanni Trapattoni’s tight-knit side to beat France in the two-legged play-off.
Trapattoni’s men will be looking to draw first blood when they face Les Bleus at Croke Park on Saturday, and a bullish Keane talked up the Irish chances.
He said: “It will be an intriguing game because France are a very dangerous team. France have some very good players, but then good players don’t necessarily make a good team and Ireland do have a good team.
“Individually France have better players but Ireland have shown over the years to be a good team and that is what you need.”
Keane feels the veteran Italian chief may need to alter his game-plan rather than rely on the attritional style which served them well in the qualifying campaign.
Keane, capped 65 times for the Republic, explained: “He may change it. He has gone down the road of making them hard to beat and trying to nick a goal during qualifying matches.
“But this needs a different mentality because they need to win. There may have been one or two too many draws, but he has got them to where they are by being disciplined. That’s Trapattoni’s mindset and you can’t question that or what he’s done. They will need that again over the next week or so and a bit more now.”
Ipswich boss Keane says the Irish need to win should also make the match an attractive affair in Dublin.
Keane, who enjoyed play-off knock-out joy against Iran in 2002, added: “Ireland may have to be a bit more adventurous, it depends how the games pan out. If there’s an early goal, injuries, sendings-off or score from the first game.
“That’s why the games are going to be good because one or the other team will have to take a risk at some stage to win the game.
“That’s like the Champions League at the moment. The group matches are absolutely boring. It is the next round where it gets interesting when teams need to win.”
France, who are favourites, struggled through qualifying and Keane is not surprised his old playing adversary Patrick Vieira has been omitted from their squad.
Viera, 33, is struggling to hold down at place with Serie A giants Inter Milan and even the experience of 107 caps was not enough to earn him a place in under-fire Raymond Domenech’s plans.
But ex-Manchester United great Keane sounded a note of caution after warning the likes of Premier League stars Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and Abou Diaby will still possess a major danger to Irish hopes.
He said: “Viera will be missing and he’s not been playing regularly for his club team. But France have some good players. Whatever side they put out we all know they will be hard to beat.”
