Glum Given surveys Irish dream

Goalkeeper Shay Given has conceded it is "not nice" to be effectively playing for third place in Group D as the Republic of Ireland take on Cyprus.

Mathematical chance
For the first time in 20 years, the national team are going into their last two games in qualifying with little but pride to play for. A mathematical chance of reaching UEFA EURO 2008™ still exists, but even if Stephen Staunton's men win their two remaining matches, they need the Czech Republic to lose all three of theirs – an unlikely scenario.

Painful defeat
Ireland have looked decent in Group D home draws with Germany and the Czech Republic, but dismal away form – Staunton's side have taken only four points from five games – has hurt them. In particular, the pain of a 5-2 defeat in Cyprus still burns. "Our away form has let us down," said Given. "We haven't picked up enough points on the road and that has cost us."

'Not nice'
The Republic can avenge that setback in Nicosia when they welcome Angelos Anastasiadis's team to Dublin on Wednesday. An away win, however, would move Cyprus – who have a match in hand – above their hosts and into third place. That would add insult to injury. "We're playing for third position now and that's not nice," said the 31-year-old from Newcastle United FC.

Just deserts
Celtic FC winger Aiden McGeady added: "We played really well in the draw against Germany on Saturday, but it's annoying that we didn't play so well earlier in the campaign. We know now that we can play well against a decent team like Germany, but we let ourselves down in various stages of the group. That's the disappointment. We were capable of qualifying but it's not to be."

Tomorrow's people
Yet some feel the future is bright. Players such as Stephen Ireland, Kevin Doyle, Shane Long, Joey O'Brien, Andy Keogh, Paul McShane, Stephen Kelly and Wayne Henderson have all made competitive debuts in this campaign and should make an impact in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. "A lot of the players are in their first international campaign and they will learn from all the experiences they've had in the last year – the good and the bad," said Everton FC midfielder Lee Carsley.