Road to Brazil set to begin with Kazakh kick-off

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI got some — but by no means all — of his wishlist at yesterday’s World Cup fixtures meeting in Frankfurt.

Although the manager said he was happy with the balance of the schedule, he had made it clear in advance of the meeting that, as in the European Championship qualifiers, he hoped to avoid the biggest guns early in the campaign.

That hasn’t happened this time, with top seeds Germany our second opponents in Group C, though Ireland will have the benefit of playing that game at home. Trapattoni will also be pleased the match takes place in October, meaning his players will have been able to get some decent game time with their clubs since the start of the new season, a season that could prove all the more taxing after their summer exertions in Poland and Ukraine.

The draw also sees Ireland playing what should be the toughest game of the entire campaign, again against the Germans, away on October 11, 2013. That would be the penultimate game of qualifying before Ireland finish the campaign with what should be a guaranteed three points against Kazakhstan in Dublin four days later.

Trapattoni was particularly pleased Ireland’s opening and only game this coming September is against Kazakhstan — though supporters might not share his enthusiasm for such a long haul destination after forking out only a couple of months earlier for a big east European adventure. Kazakhstan certainly have the look of cannon fodder in Group C, having lost all their home games bar one in a European Championship qualifying group which also included their World Cup opponents Germany and Austria.

The Austrians and the Faroe Islands have the earliest start to the campaign, having agreed — with the support of FIFA — to play each other in June of this year, before the finals of the European Championships actually take place.

Responding to the details of Ireland’s route map for Brazil 2014, Trapattoni said: “This is a good fixture schedule for our team with a good balance to the matches. We finish the campaign at home and start with a single away match against Kazakhstan which was important given the long distances involved.

“I am also happy with the balance obtained in the double-headers and the timing of what we would expect to be key matches in the group.”

As in the just completed Euro qualifiers, the group winner will qualify automatically for the World Cup finals in two years’ time, with the runner-up going into a play-off.