Irish unafraid of Germany test

12 October 2014 21:46

Roy Keane has told the Republic of Ireland they have nothing to fear as they aim to further dent world champions Germany's pursuit of Euro 2016 qualification.

Martin O'Neill's assistant is fully expecting a backlash from Joachim Low's men when the Group D rivals meet in Gelsenkirchen on Tuesday evening with the Germans currently sitting in third place after Saturday's shock 2-0 defeat in Poland.

But while Keane, who saw Ireland trounce Gibraltar 7-0 in Dublin the same evening, insists Low and his players will not be panicking, he is adamant the Republic should relish the task of taking on the group favourites in their own back yard.

Asked if there was a fear factor, he said: "No, obviously not, no. That's a silly question.

"Obviously, we know the challenge in front of the players, but we have got a lot of experience and they have played in big games before. Yes, they should look forward to it and hopefully they will.

"Like any good team, they'll respond to a setback, so we will expect Germany to come out firing on all cylinders and we have to be ready for that."

Low's squad has been depleted since the World Cup triumph in Brazil by the retirement from international football of key men such as Philipp Lahm and Miroslav Klose, while injuries have further reduced his options this month.

However, Keane is not about to start feeling sympathy for a manager who still has a dazzling array of talent at his disposal, and a history of success.

He said: "There are obviously going to be changes there, new players coming into the group, but they still have that quality and history behind them.

"They are at home and they have won their first game, so I don't think for one minute Germany will be panicking, far from it. You still expect them to probably be favourites to top the group.

"But it happens, you can lose football matches. The downside from our point of view is you would obviously expect a response from Germany at home, so that makes it maybe even tougher."

Germany's form has been patchy since their summer triumph - they lost 4-2 to Argentina in a friendly before a narrow victory over Scotland in their opening qualifier - but Keane is not convinced there is any hangover from their World Cup exploits.

He said: "I don't think that will be a big problem. Top players usually move on very quickly when they have had a bit of success - we saw it with the Spanish for the last eight, 10 years - you can do it.

"It's one defeat for Germany, let's not be getting carried away thinking they are gone. They have got top players. Yes, they have lost a few experienced lads, but they always have good young players coming through, whether it be from the under-21s or players who were maybe on the bench during the World Cup.

"Don't think for one minute that Germany are still not a top, top team. They are, of course, they just had a setback.

"From what I hear, they played okay, had decent possession and lost by a couple of goals, which can happen to any team."

Ireland, of course, have felt the full force of the Germans in recent times, losing 6-1 at home and 3-0 away during the last qualifying campaign, but they travelled in hope of a significantly better result, if fully aware that the win over Gibraltar represented no meaningful preparation.

Keane said: "You obviously can't go gung-ho against a quality team like Germany, but you can't sit back and expect to defend for 90 minutes.

"That would be very difficult, so it's all a balancing act. Obviously defensively, let's be solid, but hopefully be a goal threat like Poland were."

Source: PA