The team that Hans built
The German-born manager declined to suggest which of the two would win the group, and thereby qualify without having to go through the turmoil of a play-off.
And he also chose not to be drawn into a discussion on the prospects of Albania upsetting all the predictions and edging out the favourites.
Briegel said: "In general I am a fan of Irish players as they tend to be strong in the basics, in tackling and running.
"They work hard for one another and do not play what I would term a typical 'English game', that is, kick and rush.
"Ireland play a compact, close, game with the emphasis on teamwork and support play. Their strength is their teamwork and I'd single out Duff and Cunningham as two players who are especially important to them."
Briegel, who won a Serie A championship with Verona in 1985, was reluctant to discuss in any depth his work with Albania since he took over as national team trainer before they played Russia in March.
Yet he is already a hero in Albania they crushed Russia 3-1 in his first match, and followed that by drawing 0-0 with Ireland in Tirana in April.
Albania lie third in the group, three points behind leaders Switzerland, one point behind Russia and one point ahead of Ireland. In that position they are clearly a threat to everybody else, and qualification is well within their reach. Their games against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday and against Switzerland in Berne on Wednesday will be critical.
Briegel's influence, in less than six months with the squad, has been considerable.
Last week he called up 40 players to a training camp in Hayna, in southwest Germany, for a week of special training.
He said: "Twenty-five of the players have never played in the national A or B teams. The operation was geared to identify new talent, players with the potential to represent Albania at international level."
Such a level of preparation is entirely new for Albania.
They played Ireland in 1992, touching down in Dublin with neither playing gear nor footballs, before a local businessman presented them with new gear.
The impact of the forceful Briegel was entirely predictable, given the potential of the local players and his huge reputation.
He played for West Germany in two World Cup finals, losing 1-3 to Italy in Madrid in 1982 and 2-3 to Argentina in Mexico in 1986.
Briegel's assistant in Albania is Axel Roos, also aided by the current international, Igle Tare. All three played in the Bundesliga with Kaiserslautern.
Albania has always produced players of individual skill and imagination, and Irish fans will soon see for themselves just how the German influence has turned them into a powerful unit.
Briegel said: "Albania has a good record in the physical and technical. But without teamwork it's worthless."
The one flaw on their record after four matches in the current qualifying tournament was a 1-4 loss to Russia in Wolgagrad.
Significantly, the game was played in the depths of winter, in October, just four days after Albania had drawn 1-1 with the Swiss in the Mediterranean climate of Tirana.
Said Briegel: "I wasn't the Albania trainer for those matches so I cannot pass comment, but I saw the match in Wolgagrad on television.
"The players told me that after playing Switzerland in Albania it was very difficult to become acclimatised over three days for the match in Russia, with a change of 30 degrees between the two venues."
Briegel never played against Ireland, but he has fond memories of one Irishman who was a contemporary of his if never a team-mate in Italy in the mid-1980s.
He said: "I enjoyed my time in Italy with Verona and I remember how good Liam Brady was when he played in Serie A."
The powerful Briegel was a huge influence on the teams he played with, and his forceful football from left-back was of great importance to Germany, Kaiserslautern and Verona.
Now that he has control of a squad of technically proficient players he represents a huge threat to Ireland's Euro prospects.
Meanwhile, Ireland's manager Brian Kerr confirmed yesterday that the team will once again be captained by Kenny Cunningham, the Birmingham defender who was elevated to the role when Kerr was appointed.
Kerr also welcomed the news that goalkeeper Shay Given will be fully recovered from the knee injury he sustained in training.
Given emerged from the Mater Hospital in Dublin yesterday with a positive report after a medical scan on the injured limb.
Unfortunately, the report on striker Glen Crowe was not so encouraging, and he will struggle to be fit for the follow-up game against Georgia next week.
Kerr said: "There is no problem with Shay, he is totally in the clear. The injury will have cleared up within a day or two, and as a precaution he will not play today against the U-21 team. He will be in the team against Albania."
He added: "Glen Crowe's injured knee will keep him out of consideration for Saturday's match.
"We will continue to monitor him and to give him treatment but he is unlikely to be fit. We'll wait and see how he progresses for the match against Georgia."
Ireland will travel from their training base in Carrickmacross today to the Portmarnock Links Hotel, where they will be based for the next week.
They will later play a team drawn from the U-21 squad which drew with Germany in Cork on Monday, in a full-scale practice match behind closed doors on the ground of Tolka Rovers.
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