Soccer/Republic of Ireland v Brazil:Given the number of unfamiliar faces Brazil have brought to Dublin, the Irish soccer public will wait to see whether tonight's experience at Croke Park really turns out to be, "just like watching Brazil". Our visitors, however, reckon they know precisely what they will face come the 7.45pm kick-off.
Word has it they expect to get a bit of a kicking, a notion Robbie Keane didn't entirely dispel when asked about it yesterday in Malahide. "What? Us kick them?" he said with obvious surprise. Briefly, it seemed this had been prompted by someone having the audacity to suggest this current Ireland side would put the boot in.
It transpired, however, to be because he reckoned the Brazilians would be fools to expect anything less than a physical challenge.
"I am sure we will kick them," he exclaimed, to considerable laughter from the assembled press, before quickly adding, "but I'm sure we'll kick the ball at the same time.
"I don't think they can expect to come here and we'll let them keep the ball for the whole 90 minutes," he continued. "It just doesn't happen. We're going to be in their faces like we are with anyone, regardless of whether they are Brazil or anyone.
"We are at home and we've got the fans behind us and you can't be fearing teams. Okay, they have got some great players but if you're fearing them then you've got no chance."
Keane insisted he was excited by the prospect of facing the Brazilians and wasn't overly concerned about the particular personnel this evening. The point was underlined by the fact that, while there are young kids for whom the game has been greatly devalued by the withdrawal of Kaka, the Ireland skipper admitted yesterday he had been unaware the AC Milan striker had pulled out on Sunday night.
There will, of course, be a few faces that are familiar to the Dubliner come kick-off time - Alex of Chelsea, Manchester United's Anderson and Gilberto Silva of Arsenal amongst them but the loss of the World Player of the Year and his young club team-mate Alexandre Pato, remains a disappointment.
Dunga, to be fair, has brought eight of the squad that won the Copa America last year but the rest of the travelling party is made up of much less well known players. A significant number of them, like defenders Breno and Real Madrid's Marcelo or midfielders Hernanes of Sao Paulo and Liverpool's Lucas are bound for their country's latest assault on the Olympics, a title they have never won.
If Ireland can win, they will not dwell much on the weakened nature of the opposition but then the Brazilians have only lost twice since Dunga took charge in the wake of the 2006 World Cup and most of the team he puts out tonight will be particularly eager to impress their coach.
With Don Givens set to revert to the under-21s and either Giovanni Trapattoni or Terry Venables most likely to be in charge by the time the team's next scheduled game - against Serbia in May - comes around, the same can't be said of Ireland.
Still, after a miserable qualification in which they suffered a couple of major embarrassments and trailed hopelessly behind the group's big beasts they should not be short of motivation.
With Damien Duff back and Aiden McGeady continuing to improve, they have, believes Givens, the potential to cause their opponents problems while it will be just as interesting to see how the back four copes with the likes of Julio Baptista, Robinho and Luis Fabiano tonight after the failed attempts to dominate the Cypriot or Welsh attacks a few months back.
Givens, having named what he says is a "strong side" after calling up Glenn Whelan for the injured Steven Reid and losing Darren Potter to a stomach bug, is hopeful his side can get, "a positive result" but conceded that, "we'll have to be at our top level," to get it.
"We all know that attacking-wise they have great quality but why not? We have decent players there will be no complex at all. We have players playing well in the Premier League; Robbie is one of the top scorers in the division. Sure, it's Brazil but nothing to frighten the life out of you."
Lifting his side for a game like this should not present an insurmountable challenge for Givens even if the result will depend at least as much on the extent to which the visitors push themselves.
The task for the next manager, though, will be a little more challenging with Italy, Bulgaria and even the lower-ranked teams like Georgia all likely to pose major challenges for Ireland come the start of the qualifiers campaign.
Asked which of the two main candidates he believed would be the better choice to lead the team, Keane, predictably, kicked for touch. "I don't have a preference," he said.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd); Kelly (Birmingham City), O'Shea (Manchester Utd), Dunne (Manchester City), Kilbane (Wigan Ath); McGeady (Celtic), Carsley (Everton), Miller (Sunderland), Duff (Newcastle Utd); Keane (Tottenham), Doyle (Reading).
BRAZIL (possible): Renan (Internacional); Rafinha (Schalke), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Breno (Bayern Munich), Alex (Chelsea); Lucas (Liverpool), Tiago Neves (Fluminense), Anderson (Manchester Utd), Hernandes (Sao Paulo); Rafael Sobis (Real Betis), Robinho (Real Madrid).
Venue: Croke Park Kick-off: 7.45pm On TV: Sky Sports 1 RTÉ Two (highlights 10.25)
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