Sometimes you don’t have to beat the Irish

Saturday night in Copenhagen marked my 25th anniversary return to the Parken Stadium and, at one level, it was as if nothing had changed in a quarter of a century.

It was scoreless between Denmark and Ireland in 1992 and it was scoreless again in 2017, and both games ended with the home crowd frustrated and the away supporters in celebratory mode at the final whistle.

But nil-nil away from home early in a World Cup qualification campaign, as was the case 25 years ago, and nil-nil away in a World Cup qualification play-off are two very different things.