Ireland seek the higher ground

THE conventional wisdom has it that the last time the Republic of Ireland beat a higher-ranked nation in a competitive international was on that memorable occasion in September 2001 when Jason McAteer’s celebrated strike was enough to see off Holland in a World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne Road.

In fact, though the modest enough achievement tends to get overlooked, Ireland actually repeated the feat at Croke Park six years later in March 2007 when, on one of Steve Staunton’s better days in charge during the Euro 2008 campaign, his team beat a Slovakian side, then ranked a few places above the Republic.

Still, as Ireland prepare to face Sweden in a vital World Cup qualifier at the Aviva Stadium tonight, the fundamental truth remains: the Irish have long-since struggled to come out on top against pedigree opponents when qualifying points are at stake.