Liam Brady is fearing the worst, hoping for the best ahead of Euro 2016

Liam Brady is concerned that UEFA have diluted the quality of France 2016 but hopeful that Ireland can progress in the tournament – just so long as they begin the finals the way they ended their qualifying campaign

WITH Euro 2016 almost upon us, my mood ahead of kick-off might best be described as a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.

I’m delighted, of course, that Ireland will be involved and cautiously optimistic they can progress from their group. But I’m also concerned that, as a spectacle of football, the tournament could suffer from the decision to inflate the format to 24 teams, since there is a danger — especially in the group stages, with four of the third-place teams set to qualify — that it will encourage drab, defensive football, where avoiding defeat will trump will to win.