Double headers against Sweden and Austria will be key for Ireland, writes EMMET MALONE

FAI CHIEF executive John Delaney may have left the fixtures meeting in Frankfurt yesterday believing the first, very small part of the mission has been accomplished but getting the Boys in Green to Brazil still looks like coming down to the Republic of Ireland having to beat better second seeds than Slovakia and then, almost certainly, stronger opponents than Estonia in qualification play-offs.

With the decks cleared next September for the long trip to Kazakhstan and the group’s most lowly-ranked side due into Dublin for the concluding game of the campaign 13 months later, Delaney will believe he has delivered the winnable games with which Giovanni Trapattoni had said he wished to start and end his campaign.

Still, the team’s run is packed with potential pitfalls with Sweden (home), Austria (away) and Germany (away) to be faced before the Kazakhs land in Dublin for the concluding game.

Assuming his new deal really is the “formality” he says it is and the Italian is still in charge of the Irish team when the campaign kicks off next September, Trapattoni will, however, most likely have to deliver the improvement he has suggested is possible if his players are to upset Sweden over the course of the games in between and bag a top-two finish in the group.

With first place and automatic qualification almost certainly spoken for by the Germans, who won their place in Poland and Ukraine next summer without dropping a point, the group should boil down to a straight race for second between the Irish and Swedes, with a great deal riding on how the sides fare in their games against each other on March 22nd and September 10th, 2013. Ireland will be at home in the latter game but for Trapattoni’s men both ties are part of potentially tough double headers that also involve Austria.

Austria’s recent record in qualifying competitions is not all that inspiring and it would require a significant improvement for them to seriously challenge for second spot in this group, although after the way Armenia came from nowhere in the European campaign just finished, Trapattoni will not be taking anything for granted, especially if he hears about the most recent encounters between the sides.

When looking to qualify for Euro’96 Jack Charlton’s side slipped up early on by drawing in Liechtenstein after which the manager suggested the Irish could play their way back to the top of the group with a series of results that included wins home and away over the Austrians. Instead his men lost both games and ended up facing the Netherlands in a play-off at Anfield where Ireland were well beaten.

Much of the groundwork for yesterday’s meeting appears to have been laid during the social events that preceded it on Thursday evening when Delaney is said to have won agreement in relation to several key objectives.

The decision to play the Faroes in June 2013, several weeks after the club season in England has ended, looks less than ideal but it was taken, it is said, as options started to become limited.

Permission had to be sought to use the date as it was not part of the official schedule but that was not a major issue and the Austrians will also take on Sweden that day.

Assuming the rest of the campaign goes more or less to plan with wins over the Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan but slim pickings from the encounters with the Germans, it will be that March and September 2013 double headers that will do most to determine Ireland’s fate.

GROUP C: FIXTURES

Wed, June 6th 2012: Faroe Islands v Austria.

Fri, Sept 7th: Kazakhstan v REP OF IRELAND; Germany v Faroe Islands.

Tue, Sept 11th: Austria v Germany; Sweden v Kazakhstan.

Friday, Oct 12th: REP OF IRELAND v Germany; Faroe Islands v Sweden; Kazakhstan v Austria.

Tuesday, Oct 16th: Germany v Sweden; Faroe Islands v REP OF IRELAND; Austria v Kazakhstan.

Fri, March 22nd 2013: Kazakhstan v Germany; Sweden v REP OF IRELAND.

Tue Mar 26th: REP OF IRELAND v Austria; Germany v Kazakhstan.

Fri, June 7th: Austria v Sweden; REP OF IRELAND v Faroe Islands.

Tuesday, June 11th: Sweden v Faroe Islands.

Friday, Sep 6th: REP OF IRELAND v Sweden; Germany v Austria; Kazakhstan v Faroe Islands.

Tuesday, Sep 10th: Faroe Islands v Germany; Kazakhstan v Sweden; Austria v REP OF IRELAND.

Fri, Oct 11th: Germany v REP OF IRE; Sweden v Austria; Faroe Islands v Kazakhstan.

Tuesday, Oct 15th: Sweden v Germany, Austria v Faroes; Rep of Ire v Kazakhstan.