Del Bosque labels Trap’s men ‘excellent’

Spanish boss Vicente del Bosque has heaped praise on the Republic of Ireland ahead of the European Championships finals.

The World andEuropean champions, are paired with the Irish, Italy and Croatia in Group C of the summer tournament.

Del Bosque said: “Our group is verydifficult. Ireland have a strong personality, character and anexcellent team regardless of the experience of their managerGiovanni Trapattoni. They will be a complicated team; we know how strong they are because of how well they got through their play-off (beatingEstonia 5-1 onaggregate).”