Ireland face familiar situation in crunch Euro 2020 qualifier with Denmark
Heading into a play-off match to qualify for a major competition is a feeling that the Republic of Ireland are all too familiar with.
The infamous Thierry Henry handball incident in 2009 saw them lose to France in extra-time and miss out on a place at the World Cup in South Africa the following summer.
Then there were victories against Estonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to qualify for Euro 2012 and 2016 respectively.
Read more: England put seven past Montenegro to qualify for Euro 2020
Fast forward to last year and Ireland were in another winner-takes-all affair as they endeavoured to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
After holding Denmark to a 0-0 draw in Copenhagen, they would lose the second leg 5-1 in Dublin as Christian Eriksen netted a hat-trick.
Tomorrow they face Denmark once again and, although it is technically a regular qualifier, it has in essence become another play-off for the Irish with a place at Euro 2020 on the line.
Familiar foes
This is the sixth time the two countries have met in 18 months, having also been in the same Nations League group last autumn.
Mick McCarthy’s side must beat the Danes in Dublin to join likely group winners Switzerland in next summer’s competition. Anything less and they will be doomed to another actual play-off.
Coming into this weekend’s final round of qualifiers Ireland were top of Group D, having played a game more than rivals Denmark and Switzerland.
But Denmark and Switzerland beat Gibraltar and Georgia respectively on Thursday to move above them into the two qualification spots.
It has all but guaranteed the Swiss’s place at Euro 2020 as they prepare to take on Gibraltar tonight. For Ireland and Denmark, it is still all to play for.
McCarthy has called the match a “cup final” and insisted that, as the group’s third seeds, the side find themselves in a great situation.
“I’ve said at the very start, I would have taken this,” McCarthy said last month. “If you could have forgotten about all the other games and we’ll have a one-off game against Denmark, it would be brilliant.”
Onus on attack
At present, the Danes sit top of Group D with 15 points, three ahead of Ireland, but a win in Dublin would see the Irish move above them based on the countries’ head-to-head record.
The pair drew the reverse fixture 1-1 and have in fact drawn their last three encounters, and four of the last five, with two 0-0 draws in the Nations League campaign too. The only defeat came in that World Cup play-off.
However, this time Ireland will have to win to progress. Denmark, meanwhile, would only need another draw to qualify, putting the onus on their opponents to attack.
McCarthy’s men have built their campaign on being tough to beat, conceding just four goals in seven games and keeping four clean sheets.
Up front, they have been less intimidating scoring just six goals, while Denmark have scored 22.
In fact, Ireland failed to score in their last two qualifiers against Switzerland and Georgia, and each of their six goals so far has come from a different player.
Brighton forward Aaron Connolly, 19, had emerged as a possible late solution to their attacking woes, but has been ruled out with an untimely injury.
There is welcome news, though, as Darren Randolph looks set to return from a four-week absence to start in goal.
The goalkeeper and his defence will be vital to Ireland’s efforts as history dictates that keeping Denmark at bay will be crucial.
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