Skipper O’Shea demands ‘massive team effort’

In the absence of old soldiers like Dunne, Duff, Keane and Given, John O’Shea — who will earn his 82nd cap tonight — has been entrusted with the responsibility of skippering Ireland for the first time in a competitive game.

But while happy to acknowledge the honour, the Sunderland defender insists that in this game, of all games, — with a much-changed Ireland up against hot favourites Germany — the key to success for the home side will be all about emphasising the collective over the individual.

“The way it has happened there will be four players from the Euros who will be starting the game and the rest are, shall we say, younger,” he observes. “So, yes, that experience is missing and that is unfortunate but the players that are in there now include some that people have been calling for to be given a chance.