Ireland must avoid false start

Roy Keane said the other day that the Euro 2016 already feels like it took place 100 years ago.

But while it is certainly tricky to make an entirely valid comparison between the concentrated form of tournament football and the protracted, spaced-out nature of a qualifying campaign, there is one way in which tonight’s game in Belgrade carries a distinct echo of events in the summer.

As with Ireland’s Euro Finals match against Sweden in Paris, this World Cup opener against Serbia is one of those games in which the avoidance of defeat can legitimately be regarded as, in the parlance of football, a result.