Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has vented his fury at FIFA in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
'I would like to know what have I done to (Sepp) Blatter,' Trapattoni said. 'If he explains it to me at least I would be calm.
'I often go to schools and speak of fair play. Click to continue reading...

The hard luck of the Irish

It will come as scant consolation to Ireland, their backroom staff, their players and their massive support (which probably now includes the whole known world outside the borders of France), that maybe this latest travesty could be the death knell to all those who believe that 'honest' mistakes are part and parcel of the game.

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Image via Wikipedia It's a shock and disbelief for many of the supporters and Irish fans where Ireland's hopes were dashed after the equalizer by William Gallas. Before crossing the ball Thierry Henry was seen to handle the ball twice which was not observed by the sideline officials and resulted in the equalizer. Click to continue reading...

Without getting into a great deal of opinion, or any at all for that matter there's surely plenty of that floating about it would probably be prudent to look into the words on each side of the divide from those who were there, at the game and directly impacted. (What with it being one of the most controversial games in World Cup Qualifying history and all.

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Image via Wikipedia The presence of Giovanni Trapattoni continued to grow even at the Stadio de France and things were turning to be dramatic during the first half as Ireland scored in about the 32nd minute to show that they were in the groove and it reflected the score line predicted by Trapattoni the earlier [. Click to continue reading...

A "saddened" Giovanni Trapattoni hit out at match officials but refused to blame Thierry Henry for the handball which helped France controversially dump the Republic of Ireland out of World Cup qualifying here on Wednesday. Trapattoni's Irish squad had forced the second leg of their playoff to extra time at the . Click to continue reading...

In my EPL Talk piece yesterday, I discussed all of the reasons that Ireland's potential qualification was better for World Football than France's would be. Much of this thought process centered on the importance of American market to the success of the World Cup.

But alas, Giovanni Trapattoni's side was defeated at the hands of Thierry Henry's France.

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In my piece yesterday, I discussed all of the reasons that Ireland's potential qualification was better for World Football than France's would be. I detailed my reasoning without any mention that a group of hard working custodians of the game should not be denied by a group of talented but unsporting cheats.

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France captain Thierry Henry admitted he had handled the ball in the build-up to a controversial goal that sent France to the World Cup at the expense of Ireland on Wednesday.

Talk about Maradona's Hand of God, for the Boys from Ireland, this tragedy at the Stade de France will now be known as Henry's Le Hand of God.

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Thierry Henry does not have many fans in the Republic of Ireland tonight. The best footballer in the world, according to the Castrol Rankings, used his hand to put France through to the World Cup Finals next Summer. While the Boys in Green are red with fury and probably wouldn't object to a Hammurabi-like justice exacted on the former Arsenal ace, it should be kept in mind why France was playing Ireland at all.

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(Editors note: This entry is from Richard Farley, who will soon have SB Nation's new World Cup blog up and running. Here's a great example of what you can expect regularly)

Wednesday, we will see the field for the 2010 World Cup field completed, with invitations to be handed-out after the six matches spanning Africa, Europe, South America and (by extension) Central America.

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Looking for a miracle.

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Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni is unlikely to make any changes for Wednesday's World Cup play-off second leg against France in Paris.

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Saturday's demoralizing one-nil home loss to France in the first leg of their World Cup play-off sees the Republic of Ireland facing an uphill task to reach next summer's showpiece. As French fans start booking their flights to South Africa, the Irish faithful are left praying for a miracle.

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Europe
With four places left to be filled, the eight best runners-up from the group stage took to the field on Saturday to kick-off the first leg of the European play-offs.
In Dublin, Ireland battled tenaciously against the visiting French team but somewhat frustrating played true to form, i. Click to continue reading...

Ireland go into their World Cup play-off second-leg with France at full strength with no injuries to report.
It is do-or-die for Giovanni Trapattoni's men as they prepare to fly to Paris on Tuesday trailing 1-0 from the first-leg at Croke Park.
Ireland performed admirably on Saturday but still fell to a deflected 72nd minute Nicolas Anelka strike, handing the French the initiative ahead of the return match on Wednesday. Click to continue reading...

Giovanni Trapattoni, the Ireland manager, said Lassana Diarra's verbal attack on Keith Andrews, which precipitated a confrontation of a more physical nature with players from both teams forming a melee, was an "insult to the Irish people". "I cannot say the sentence," the Italian added. Click to continue reading...

The first legs of the European World Cup play-offs took place yesterday (Saturday) and Russia, Portugal and France all take slender advantages into their second legs.

Portugal managed to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 in Lisbon in their first leg. With Cristiano Ronaldo ruled out of the tie through injury the Portuguese had to rely on the likes of Simao Sabrosa, Liedson and Deco for their creative spark but all three were guilt of below-par performances.

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I've written before about how good an interview Stephen Ireland is, always providing a great insight into situations with an honesty rarely offered by footballers.
There are a couple of features today in The Telegraph and The Guardian in which Ireland discusses - on the eve of Ireland's World Cup play-off with France - his continued absence from the international scene, and despite reports that have hinted at a return he firmly closes the door on a potential return:

But while admitting he will watch Giovanni Trapattoni's team tackle the French when he returns to Manchester, Ireland has emphatically ruled out the possibility of an about-turn on his international retirement and insisted that the hate mail does not concern him.

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Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland side tried their hardest to come out of this first leg with something to show for their efforts but it was a hideously deflected shot from Nicolas Anelka that gave France the win at Croke Park.

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Saturday sees the penultimate day of World Cup qualifers with nine of the 32 places still up for grab.
Already qualified
HOSTS: South Africa
AFRICA: Ghana, Ivory Coast
ASIA: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea
EUROPE: Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
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Ireland captain Robbie Keane has urged the team to become national heroes by beating France in the World Cup play-off.
Giovanni Trapattoni's side host France at Croke Park on Saturday before Wednesday's return leg in Paris.
"If you look on paper, they have got world-class players all over the pitch," said Keane. Click to continue reading...

Let battle commence.

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Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has delayed finalising his team for Saturday's World Cup play-off first leg against France at Croke Park.

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Not yet, Trapa. Hope is alive and well. The Republic of Ireland and France will face each other in the first leg of their competition for a place in South Africa in 2010 tomorrow at Croke Park in Dublin. Being that it's my birthday and I'm Irish by heritage, I think it's only fitting that fate allows [. Click to continue reading...

With 23 nations already qualified for World Cup 2010, there are just nine places in South Africa still up for grabs. Three of those will be decided when African qualifying concludes next Wednesday. But that's a separate post. The six other qualifiers will be decided by playoffs, starting tomorrow.

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Ireland v France
Saturday 14 November 2009 and Wednesday 18 November 2009
2010 World Cup Qualifying

The last time that the Republic of Ireland qualified for the World Cup, in 2002, they took the playoff route to book their place in Korea/Japan

This time, the route is the same, but while Ireland were in the favorite role against Iran last time around, they‘re decided underdogs this time, as Giovanni Trapattoni's side meets 1998 World Cup champions France with a ticket to South Africa on the line.

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The long, two-year road to South Africa has finally come to a conclusion. So far, 23 teams, including host South Africa, have qualified for the World Cup (here's a list of 2010 world cup teams).

Four will be known after the Nov. 14 matches, while the remaining five will be known after Nov.

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"Low lie the Fields of Athenry, Where once we watched the small free birds fly!!!"

This Saturday at 8pm, I'll will be glued to the box with the rest of The Emerald Isle to watch the darlings of the nation again defy the odds against greater foes to reach the final of the greatest show on Earth.

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The play-off draw was by no means easy on Republic of Ireland and they have only FIFA officials to thank to for pitting them against underperforming but still very strong France side. This is obviously going to be most interesting duel in the World Cup play-offs and while we have no doubts both sets of players will be extremely motivated, it is the coaches that have the power to win this game for their team.

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Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni is refusing to rest on his laurels as he plots France's World Cup downfall.
The 70-year-old Italian will lead Ireland into play-off battle with the 1998 winners, refusing to look back on all the success his distinguished career has brought him to date and concentrating only on what lies ahead. Click to continue reading...

The Republic of Ireland will take on France in the World Cup play-offs which commence next weekend in what will be an intriguing clash between the shrewd Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and the much-maligned French national team coach Raymond Domenech.

Trapattoni's record speaks for itself with successful spells almost everywhere he coached yet his most notable job prior to taking over Ireland ended in miserable failure with the Azzurri.

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Image via Wikipedia Although many have called it unfair, the seeding system adopted for the play off matches to decide the final four European teams that will make it to the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa, has produced four potentially exciting match ups. The two leg matches will be played on November 14th [. Click to continue reading...

Of the European World Cup play-offs I would argue that the Republic of Ireland's fixture against France is the pick of the ties. The Irish have shown a great battling spirit in their qualification campaign so far, drawing twice with Italy and narrowly missing out on defeating the Italians particular highlights.

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The last time Napoli won at the Olimpico in Turin against Juventus was on a cold November day in 1988. Diego Maradona and Ciro Ferrara were wearing Azzurro, as Napoli romped their way to a famous 5-3 victory that is still spoken about today in the unofficial capital of southern Italy.

Fabio Cannavaro, another of Napoli's favourite sons, wasn't yet old enough to play for the first team then.

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Giovanni Trapattoni yesterday announced the Irish squad for the World Cup play-off games against France in Dublin on November 14th and Paris on the 18th. And, as is now usual with an Irish squad announcement, there was more questions about the players that were not in the squad than those that were named. Click to continue reading...