Republic of Ireland perspective: Emmet Malone talks to Steve Staunton about the lessons learned as the Ireland manager keeps an eye on two of Ireland's Euro 2008 group rivals.
As England prepare for Sunday's second-round game with Ecuador, Republic of Ireland Ireland manager Steve Staunton has been looking further down the road on his own travels around this World Cup.
The Louthman has been nipping in and out of Germany to watch the Republic's prospective Euro 2008 group rivals, and while what he has seen could have been worse - Slovakia, for instance, could have been here too and beating all around them - the sight of Germany coasting into the last 16 and the Czech Republic destroying the United States can have done little for the confidence of the new manager as he counts the days down to his first competitive outing.
Staunton yesterday described as "invaluable" seeing the two teams in competitive games and insisted it would greatly help as he prepares for the September 2nd qualifier against Germany at the stadium where England will play this Sunday.
Germany having done well to date, there is a growing likelihood Jürgen Klinsmann - whose stock has been soaring here - will be in charge of very much the same group of players when Ireland come to visit in the autumn. And Staunton is now more aware than ever of the challenge they will collectively present.
"Look, the Germans were supposed to be a poor side in the 2002 finals," he says, "but they reached the final and might have won that match had they taken the chances that came their way in the first hour.
"Now they boast two clinical strikers. (Miroslav) Klose could well get more than the five he managed in 2002, and they have a lot of other things going for them.
"What has really hit me when watching them here is the marvellous momentum the team have. They're playing with confidence and also have the fanatical support of their home fans. They work very hard for each other and it's clearly evident that there's a very strong team spirit.
"Michael Ballack gives them that extra edge in the area behind the two strikers that every manager is looking for. He has already made a major impact on the finals and will continue to do so, but Torsten Frings is the man who dictates the play for this German side. While Ballack pushes forward, Frings pulls the strings behind him.
"Philipp Lahm also provides great options when he pushes forward and his end product is good in that his crosses are quality."
The rest of the German defence, Staunton insists, has successfully defied its critics here during the opening couple of weeks of this tournament, and Staunton concedes it will be extremely difficult to winkle out a result in 10 weeks' time.
The encounter with the Czechs may be no easier, though, says Staunton, much depends on who stays on and who sticks around for them after the World Cup. For instance, Staunton believes that, contrary to general expectations, Pavel Nedved will extend his international career.
"There is conflicting word coming out of their camp with regard to the coach, Karel Bruckner, and their older stars," he says. "I've heard that Nedved may not now retire after the finals and that would be a major boost for them.
"They came here as the world's second-highest-ranked nation and looked the part when they demolished the Americans 3-0 in the first group game," continues Staunton, who rates Brazil, Argentina and Spain as the best sides at the tournament.
"That was an outstanding 90 minutes, with Tomas Rosicky and Nedved out of this world," he says of the Czechs' win over the USA, "but Ghana brought them back down to earth in the second game."
On the strength of Rosicky's display against the US, Staunton rates Arsenal's purchase of the central midfielder as a great bit of business. He is also aware that even if a couple of the Czechs' biggest stars do go, there are others still approaching their peak, like the gifted Rosicky, to fill the gaps.
"Whatever happens," he says, "we can be certain that the Czechs will still have a very talented group of players available to face us in October."
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