Shane Long came off the bench to fire the Republic of Ireland to a historic victory over the world champions and guarantee Martin O’Neills team a place in the Euro 2016 play-offs at least. But why should the Irish settle for that now that they have shown they are capable of victories like this? On Sunday they will duel with Poland in Warsaw for automatic qualification,with the hosts needing only a draw. Germany would have been through with a draw in Dublin but now they too face an intense final game.
You could nearly hear a gulp go around a packed Aviva Stadium before kick-off as domestic fans considered the lineups. Injuries and suspensions forced O’Neill to make four changes to the side that edged past Georgia final month, with the Ipswich Town striker Darryl Murphy and the Burnley left-back Stephen Ward slightly surprising inclusions. Ward’s only preceding action this season had been in a Capital One Cup defeat at Port Vale in August. Eight of Germany’s starters triumphed in the final World Cup final.
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Source: theguardian.com