Future is here for fledglings

A pitch falling well short of international standards will provide the platform for about a dozen Irish hopefuls to work their way into Joe Schmidt’s World Cup plans today.

The players and management knew that the soccer pitch at Estadio Centenario was going to be short and tight, but they got a shock when they arrived there for the first time yesterday for the Captain’s run.

The pitch is bumpy with a few dozen patches, in-goal areas of less than five metres, while the perimeter wall on one side is just three metres from the touchline.