We’ve got to believe that we can beat Portugal

Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for next Summer’s FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States are hanging by the thinnest of threads, but we still have to have some sort of belief and hope, even if it is false hope.

After taking only one point from the opening two group games, drawing with a last-gasp goal at home to Hungary and the disastrous away loss in Armenia, we really have a mountain to climb, which is made even harder by the trip to Portugal this Saturday to face Cristiano Ronaldo and co in Lisbon.

The result in Armenia has left no margin for error for the Irish side, and they most likely have to take something from the game in Portugal to keep their slim hopes of qualification alive. Portugal are top of the group as expected, with maximum points from both games, winning away in Hungary and then dispatching Armenia 5-0 with ease away from home. These results have put them in the driving seat for qualification, and their supporters can almost start to plan their World Cup adventure across North America next summer.

NEED TO BELIEVE

Trying to find ways in which Ireland can be victorious in Lisbon is very difficult, but we still have to believe that we can get something. In the qualifying campaign for the last World Cup in Qatar, Ireland were just minutes away from securing a famous 1-0 victory in the Algarve, only for that man Ronaldo to score two late goals to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for the Portuguese.

The minimum Ireland must get in this game is a point, and at this stage, it doesn’t matter how it happens as long as it happens. The previous game, where Ireland led for so long until Ronaldo’s late double, was a solid defensive performance with bits of luck involved, and we scored from a corner when John Egan rose highest to score a great goal. That may not be the type of performance that Irish fans would want to watch regularly, but if we want any hope of making the World Cup next year, beggars can’t be choosers.

If we were to get a result in Portugal, there may be a better atmosphere in the Aviva Stadium next Tuesday for the home game against Armenia. That is a must-win game for us to have any chance of qualifying. To even stand a chance, we probably need a minimum of seven points from the last four group games. Two of those games are against the powerhouse of Portugal, so they need something from one of those games, along with three points in Dublin against Armenia, and then it all comes down to the final group game in Budapest against Hungary.

It isn’t just our World Cup hopes that are hanging on by a thread, but also the manager’s job. By the time the final whistle sounds in the Armenia game next week, the hunt for the next Ireland manager may already have officially started. The FAI has publicly backed him, but I’d imagine privately it is a different story, and patience is wearing thin. It isn’t all the manager’s fault, as we are a country in a huge transition in football, both on and off the pitch. We have some talented young players but they are still learning their crafts but there are very few finished products who are playing at the highest level.

RUTHLESS FOOTBALL

International football is ruthless, though, and no matter how much sympathy you have for a manager in a situation, results will always dictate, especially in international football.

What may go in Heimir Halgrimsson’s favour is that many of the great Irish nights in football history have defied logic and happened out of the blue. Lille 2016, when Robbie Brady scored the winner vs Italy, 2015 in the Aviva against Germany, when Shane Long thundered home the winner, Stuttgart in 1988 when Ray Houghton headed home to beat the English, and then in 1994 in Giants Stadium when Houghton once again was the match winner against Italy in the World Cup.

All four of those great victories came against the odds, and we need another couple of those moments in this campaign, starting with Lisbon on Saturday night, to keep our slim dreams alive.