The three nagging questions

Why Simon Cox?

When Mario Mandzukic’s header found the net via Shay Given’s noggin to leave Ireland trailing 3-1 it was no surprise Trapattoni turned immediately to his bench. Given Ireland’s desperate need for a goal, replacing the goal-shy Kevin Doyle with Jon Walters made sense. Aiden McGeady created Ireland’s first half goal with a delicious cross that Sean St Ledger powered to the net but the Spartak Moscow winger was otherwise anonymous. What did raise eyebrows though as the fact McGeady was replaced not by Sunderland’s James McClean or Wolves’ Stephen Hunt in a direct swap but by West Brom striker Simon Cox. In Cox’s defence he has impressed on a number of occasions in an Ireland shirt over the last 12 months not on the left wing. Surely McClean was the more obvious replacement for McGeady. The ex-Derry man was probably the form Irish player in the Premier League in the second half of last season while Cox barely featured for West Brom. A strange decision.

Whatever happened to the luck of the Irish?

Since Thierry Henry’s sleight of hand in Paris in November 2009 Lady Luck has done her bit to make amends. Think the Macedonia game in March of last year with Ireland toiled to a 2-1 win. Think the Armenia game at the Aviva Stadium in the qualifying campaign when Ireland booked a play-off spot after the visitors had Roman Berezovsky sent off when the goalkeeper was adjudged –wrongly – to have handled outside his box. Think the play-off draw that pitted us against Estonia, the weakest of the possible opponents we might have drawn. Think most obviously of the miracle of Moscow. On Sunday night, the luck ran out. Spectacularly. A foul on Stephen Ward in the lead up to Croatia’s second goal wasn’t spotted while Shay Given was out of luck for the killer third.

Then with Ireland in desperate need of a lifeline Robbie Keane was kicked from behind by Gordon Schildenfeld in the penalty but no spot-kick was awarded. A goal there and who knows what might have happened. Ireland can only hope that Lady Luck shines on the team against Spain and Italy.

Will there be changes?

Hard to imagine wholesale changes before Thursday’s daunting showdown with reigning champions Spain. But in the aftermath of Sunday’s disappointment Trapattoni did suggest he may opt for some alterations. Having been replaced early in the second half Doyle will be one player looking anxiously over his shoulder. The Wolves striker has been a hugely influential figure for Ireland in the past but came into this tournament off the back of a poor club season and doesn’t look a real goal threat at the moment. It’s possible that Walters or Shane Long will come in at his expense. McClean is an obvious option to come in place of McGeady or Damien Duff and would be a popular selection among fans. Trapattoni, however, is anything but a populist and McClean may have to make do with a place on the bench.