Given lambasts seed system as Ireland land France tie
GOALKEEPER Shay Given has hit out once again over Fifa’s decision to seed the play-offs after his Republic of Ireland side were handed the toughest possible draw in their bid to qualify for the World Cup.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s side take on 1998 world champions France in a two-legged play-off on 14 and 18 November with the winner taking their place in South Africa next summer.
Ninth in the world rankings and with a wealth of stars to choose from, France headed the list of the four seeded teams and were undoubtedly the ones to avoid.
And Manchester City keeper Given, who launched a scathing attack on the seeding system a fortnight ago, remains angry at the decision.
“The seeding thing is totally unfair,” Given said. “As one of the smaller countries, it is hard enough to qualify at the best of times. To change the rules a couple of weeks before the end of the campaign is ridiculous. But that is what they have done. I do think it is very unfair.
“But we went to Bari and got a result. There is great belief that we can go to these big nations and get results.
Trapattoni added: “These games are like cup finals. We have come through the qualification group and are one of only five teams with an unbeaten record. That will give us self-belief.”