SPORTSPORT 28 METROSPORT Friday, November 13, 2009 D A long-standing supporter of the Irish football team. HERE WE GO AGAIN Certified Distribution August 31 to October 4, 2009: 60,395 Published by Fortunegreen Ltd, Embassy House, Herbert Park Lane, Dublin 4 Printed by The Irish Times at Citywest in Dublin Editorial: (01) 637 5900 Advertising: (01) 637 5989 Classified: (01) 637 5979 Distribution: (01) 637 5901 Our time has come Brady: Confidence in camp is high Irish due a major scalp, says Brady Nerves will never leave me, says ODriscoll on 100th Test Page 25 ireland v france preview p26-27 By DAviD kenneDy LIAm BrADy is confident the time has come for the republic of Ireland to end their long wait for a victory over one of European footballs big guns when they face France in the World Cup play-off first leg at Croke Park to- morrow evening. Not since Jason mcAteer fired Ireland to an unlikely World Cup qualifying victory over Holland in 2001 have the Boys in Green gotten the better of one of the continents traditional powers, despite a series of near misses. However, having seen Giovanni Trap- attonis men come within seconds of a win over reigning world champions Italy last month, Brady believes they can go one better to dump France out of the play-offs and book their trip to South Africa next summer. Assistant boss Brady said: I dont think you can predict how a game is going to go but we would dearly love and I think its very possible to go to Paris with a win under our belts. I know its been maybe a long time coming to defeat one of the top nations but the Italian game has given us great confidence and also taught us a couple of lessons that we need to take into this game. We conceded a goal against Italy from a set-piece, which we werent happy with, and then we didnt hang on to our lead when we took it with a few minutes to go. We have learned big lessons from that game. We have learned that, if we can so nearly beat a team like Italy, we can do the same to France. Ireland twice led against the Italians at Croke Park before ultimately draw- ing and being pitched into battle with seeded France. raymond Domenech and his players will arrive in Dublin today under pres- sure after an ordinary campaign, but with a squad packed with talent that ex- tends far beyond the likes of danger- men Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and Karim Benzema. However, Brady insists there will be no fear in the Irish camp. He said: We are worried about them all and we are not worried about any of them! We respect them. Obviously, mr Do- menech has his choices to make on which players he plays up front. He has several really strong front players but we can go on about France all day its about what we do, and our players have a great belief in what we are doing. There is an understanding of what game we have to play against the French and thats what concerns me most of all. We stick to that and we concentrate on that. Theres a really good team spirit. They know what their jobs are, each and every one of them, and theres a belief there that, if we stick to our game plan, we can qualify for the World Cup. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html28.html29.html30.html31.html