McCarthy makes two changes

The Republic of Ireland were expecting a warm welcome from the sell-out 34,000 Lansdowne Road crowd for their first match on home soil since their World Cup heroics.

But the pressure was on manager Mick McCarthy to get their first Euro 2004 qualifying points on the board and close the gap Russia, who beat Albania 4-1 during the afternoon to move to the top of Group 10.

Injuries forced McCarthy to make two changes to the team who lost 4-2 in Russia last month, with Gary Kelly replacing Steve Finnan at right-back and Colin Healy getting the nod in the right of midfield in place of Jason McAteer.

The Swiss had four points going into this match, increasing the importance of a home win for the Irish.