Happy Holland urges caution for Saudi game

ONE foot in Yokohama, one foot still in Ibaraki, the Irish squad were back in training at their camp in Chiba yesterday, planning for Saudi Arabia but still savouring the afterglow of Germany.

Nursing a bang on the ribs that confined him to the sidelines, Matt Holland was one of those called upon to meet the press. As quietly spoken off the pitch as he is tenacious on it, the Ipswich Town player can always be relied upon to offer some sober reflection, especially when more excitable types are already looking beyond Tuesday to Korea.

"The thing is not to underestimate the Saudis," he says. "Obviously, we’ve had two very good results and two very good performances, and people may be expecting us to walk all over them, but that’s not going to be the case. We saw against Cameroon how difficult they made it for them. But, certainly, it is important that we know exactly what we have to do to qualify.

"The aim was not to be beaten in the opening two games. We’ve come through those two - in both cases we could have won - and if at the start of the competition you’d said to us, 2-0 against the Saudis will see you through, we’d have taken that. But it would be easy to underestimate them and take it easy. We need a performance like the first two to get us through. But now we are in a good position. Given the same level of performance and the same commitment, we’ll win the game."

With two commanding midfield performances, crowned by that inimitable strike against Cameroon, to his credit, Holland has already emerged as one of the most significant Irish players of the tournament.

"I’ve enjoyed myself, that’s for sure," he smiles. "Every single player wants to play at the highest level and it don’t come much bigger than the World Cup. You enjoy pitting yourself against the very best. And the atmosphere at the games has been absolutely fabulous. The fans have been terrific - the noise at the German game was incredible. And the Japanese have really taken to us as well. They’ve enjoyed the fighting spirit and really taken us to their hearts."

So, after all the trauma, is the World Cup finally living up to his dreams?

"It’s living up to my dreams but now the aim has got to be to qualify. We said when we came here that we wanted to get through the group. That’s not changed and we’re in a good position to do that now." Holland offers a little inside information on the ritual pre-match huddle that, like turning to face the flag, has come to symbolise the single-minded purpose and unity of spirit of this Irish side.

"I think it was Stan’s idea. He initially starts and has a good chat and there’s one or two others who chip in as well. I’ve had a few words, yeah. To be honest, the spirit is terrific. You saw what it was like after the German game, but before the game as well, the huddle has been important. You look each other in the eye and don’t want to let anyone down."

Inevitably, the questions drift back to Ibaraki, and a night that, as Mick McCarthy had pointed out earlier in the day, has already entered Irish football folklore. The Saudis can wait a little while; everybody wants to wallow for as long as possible in the afterglow of Wednesday night.

"It was one of the most emotional nights of my football career," says Holland. "From going from two minutes to being nearly out of the competition to being very much in it, the emotions changed within that small period. And I can tell you that watching the goal, it was like it was in slow-motion. Once it hit the post, it seemed forever before it hit the net - and when eventually I did see it hit the net, that was the moment I started to celebrate."

There’s been some emotion in the air off the pitch for Holland too. Yesterday, his wife returned home to England and he admits there were "a few tears" at her departure. "We’ve been a long time away, three weeks now," he reflects, "so it was important to see my family, that’s for sure, and it certainly helped."

And on the day that England were preparing to take on Argentina, someone wants to know if there’s a friendly rivalry between the Irish and English camps.

"It’s not friendly," Holland laughs, "and we’d like to do better than England, yeah."