Paul Rouse: Cape Verde emotion underlines Ireland's need for an identity 

There is the sense of a wider national apathy. The days when the national team playing a World Cup qualifying match would have dominated all sporting discourse in the country are now long gone.

FINDING IDENTITY: The carnival of celebrations was given further context by the fact that Cape Verde played in their first World Cup qualifying campaign only in 2000. Picture: Cristiano Barbosa/Sportsfile

It is not easy to watch the Irish soccer team in their current efforts to qualify for next year’s World Cup. There is no sense of a deep collective will to win. It is one thing not to be good enough – and there are obviously players who are good enough to have professional careers but not good enough to be quality internationals – but it is altogether another not to demonstrate the raw desire to progress.

At no point in recent years have Ireland looked like a team that needed to win, as distinct from liking to, or wanting to.