Keane backs Lawrence

Captain Robbie Keane is backing Liam Lawrence to make his mark as the Republic of Ireland attempt to halt Italy’s charge to the World Cup finals.

The 27-year-old Stoke midfielder will make his first competitive appearance for his country against the reigning champions at Croke Park tonight with the stakes as high as they could be.

Lawrence, whose first goal for Ireland gave them a friendly victory over South Africa last month, has been drafted in as a replacement for the injured Damien Duff on a night when only victory will keep Ireland’s hopes of automatic qualification alive.

However, Keane is confident the winger will not freeze on his big night.

He said: “The good thing about Liam is it’s not like he’s a young kid who is just coming into it.

“He has been around for a few years and he has played at the highest level.

“But international level is a little bit different compared to playing for your club.

“He has only been in the squad a few times and played a couple of games, so he is going to be nervous.

“But he has got players around him who can certainly help him. By no means is everything going to go right tomorrow for Liam or myself for anyone else.

“That means we all have to pull together as a team more than ever.”

Lawrence’s stunning free-kick against the South Africans at Thomond Park highlighted his ability on the ball, although manager Giovanni Trapattoni knows that kind of magic is difficult to reproduce repeatedly.

He said: “It’s not always Christmas, but Lawrence has great quality.

“It’s important we have these players because for example, Italy have (Andrea) Pirlo for free-kicks.

“Set-pieces, corners and free-kicks, many, many times get results, so they are important.

“Lawrence against South Africa won us the game.”

The sides drew 1-1 in Bari in April when Keane’s late equaliser denied 10-man Italy victory, and a repeat tonight would see the Italians win Group Eight.

However, they will be without suspended defender Fabio Cannavaro, who hit the headlines on Thursday when it was revealed he had failed a drugs test.

Keane said: “He is a big loss to them. He is a fantastic player and he’s shown that over the years, so of course he is a big loss.

“But defensively over there, we caused them a few problems. We didn’t score until the last few minutes, but we had a few chances after that, and hopefully it will be the same tomorrow.

“It’s up to myself and Kevin Doyle to give them a hard time, and that’s something we will be trying to do.”