MX23RW : Saturday, December 21 08:24:57| >> :600:315326:315326:
[monks data]
Republic of Ireland national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Sep 5, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Switzerland national football team

1-1

FT(HT: 0-0)
Schar (74')

Seamus Coleman warns rivals Republic of Ireland will "never go away"

Seamus Coleman warns rivals Republic of Ireland will
© Reuters
David McGoldrick's goal secured a precious point in Dublin.

Seamus Coleman has warned the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2020 rivals to beware the nation's innate refusal to give up the fight.

Ireland emerged from their toughest Group D fixture to date, Switzerland's visit to the Aviva Stadium on Thursday evening, with a hard-earned 1-1 draw thanks to David McGoldrick's late header.

Switzerland, ranked 11th in the world, had the better of the game but were unable to push home the advantage given to them by Fabian Schar's fine 74th-minute strike.

And just as they had done in Denmark in June, the Republic fought back and scored a late equaliser.

Asked where that refusal to be beaten comes from, captain Coleman replied: "It's just in us, I think it's in the Irish people and it's in the Irish fans, it's in the Irish players.

"We don't get things handed to us. Every one of us out there on the pitch has probably been rejected at some point in our career and you have to have something inside you to keep going, and a lot of our lads out there have that.

"You see Richard Keogh bust a gut every week at club level – he's played 600 games. We've got great characters in our squad and that helps drive us on."

Ireland rode their luck at times, with the Swiss having dominated the midfield battle on a night when highly-rated Borussia Monchengladbach striker Breel Embolo was unable to mark an otherwise impressive individual display with a goal.

Manager Mick McCarthy admitted his side will have to be significantly better in the return game in Geneva next month, and ultimately it seems likely that they will have to beat either Switzerland or Denmark to secure a top-two finish.

Ireland remain top of the pile, three points better off than Denmark and six ahead of the Swiss, both of whom would join them on 11 points should they win their games in hand.

However, Coleman is confident Thursday night's result served as a reminder that there are more than two horses in the race.

Asked what message it sent, he replied: "Just that we're a hard team to beat, we never go away.

"Next month is a massive month for us, but I don't think any team will look forward to playing us either.

"We'll go there with confidence, we'll go there on the front foot. We know we'll probably have to sit in at times, but we're capable of catching teams on the break and we're really looking forward to it.

"I hope everyone goes back to their club now and does well and comes back all guns blazing."

ID:370564: cacheID:370564:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6835:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Mick McCarthy pictured on September 5, 2019
Read Next:
Mick McCarthy heaps praise on "brilliant" Ireland after late Switzerland draw
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Texans
@
Chiefs
9.30pm
Steelers
@
Ravens
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!