SOCCER fans with long memories will remember the glory of Euro 1988, when Ray Houghton scored a looping header that secured England’s defeat against the Republic of Ireland.

NEVER mind playing the world champions on their own turf – Bulgaria in Sofia tomorrow will be the toughest game yet of Ireland’s World Cup campaign.

The Republic of Ireland will play Holland in a friendly international in preparation for the World Cup 2006 qualifiers.

THE Genesis chief delivered a damning indictment of the stewardship of the FAI in one throwaway sentence last night when he suggested that minutes of one of their World Cup meetings had shown that more time had been spent in discussing the accreditation arrangements and organising complimentary tickets than in dealing with preparations for the World Cup.

ALTHOUGH the Roy Keane saga had been a well-reported subject in the German media, news about the absence of German darling Sebastian Deisler and the whole ill-fated warm-up campaign dominate the headlines and most German observers wonder what all the Keane fuss is about.