Money making draw harder than it looks

We all know about the admirable and enviable strengths of the Czech Republic, but they’re hugely overstated by a ranking of No2 in the world -they failed to qualify for the last World Cup and only reached this one through a playoff.

Slovakia’s lowly position of 44, however, is probably a greater anomaly. They were unlucky to miss out on World Cup qualification when they were beaten by Spain in a playoff in November. That they trail Ireland by 18 places makes a nonsense of the Fifa ranking system.

“I’ve seen them play, as anybody has on Eurosport and elsewhere,” said Staunton about an opponent whom Ireland have never played before, “but I can’t say I know too much about them. I’ll be making my efforts to get the videos and see them play as much as I can.” Staunton might start his research with Nuremburg’s matches last season, which saw their Slovak striker Marek Mintal emerge as the Bundesliga’s highest scorer. Mintal has been out for much of this season with a broken foot, but his imminent return looks likely to reawaken the interest of the wealthiest clubs in Italy and Spain.

Throw in the British contingent of Szilard Nemeth of Middlesbrough, Vratislav Gresko of Blackburn Rovers and Stanislav Varga of Celtic and we get a fair idea that the trip to Bratislava may be just as tough as the shorter journey to Prague.

The Czech team could have a new complexion by the time the qualifiers begin. Their hugely influential coach, the 66-year-old Karel Bruckner, is retiring after the finals. Karel Poborsky, Tomas Galasek and Pavel Nedved are all 33 while leading all-time goalscorer Jan Koller and Vladimir Smicer are both 32. Several of them won’t be long in following Bruckner off the Czech stage.

In Petr Cech, they have arguably the world’s finest goalkeeper while Tomas Rosicky, the Borussia Dortmund player linked with Arsenal, looks well positioned to take over the reins in midfield from Galasek. Despite struggling in the Premiership, Milan Baros is a fixture in the Czech side. Much will rest on the striker rediscovering the sharpness in front of goal that he showed at Euro 2004, particularly with Koller’s future uncertain after the giant Dortmund striker tore a cruciate knee ligament back in September.

Nedved remains their talisman, despite retiring from international football after Euro 2004, and the media scrum that surrounded his return shortly before the World Cup qualifying playoff against Norway seemed well justified. His teammates toiled through the qualifying group, but Nedved’s presence galvanised them into a two-leg thrashing of Norway.The Juventus star will be unable to make the same contribution once the World Cup is over, however, should he be on the international stage at all.

The Czechs appear slightly spooked by the prospect of facing Ireland. Speaking to yesterday’s Czech daily, MF Dnes, the assistant coach, Miroslav Beranek, pointed out that his country had lost their previous two games in Dublin -friendlies in 2000 and 2004, the second of which ended a 20-match unbeaten run. “Ireland is the most difficult team in our group,” Beranek said. “Second is Slovakia and third is Germany, because they are not the force they used to be.

“Ireland are very dangerous because it’s very difficult to prepare for a match with them, particularly in Dublin, where the crowd is such a factor. The matches against Ireland and Wales will be particularly difficult in this regard.”

Staunton, however, isn’t keen to buy the vulnerability line. “The Czech Republic for many, many years, seem to have had a great conveyor belt providing players.

You think they’re getting old and suddenly up pops three, four or five of them.

From our point of view, too, we’ll be looking to blood players. As I say, it’s going to be a four-year plan with the intention of giving everything we’ve got for 2008, with lots of young players coming through, or at least some, and who knows what we might pick up elsewhere.”

Staunton’s handshake with Klinsmann on Friday might be his last chance to compare notes on the joys of being in charge of your country in your first management job.

Klinsmann’s contract expires at the end of the World Cup and it’s not clear who’s less keen on a renewal -the German public or the goalscoring legend.

Little is known about Germany; they have yet to play a competitive game since Klinsmann took the job in July 2004. Klinsmann’s many critics in Germany charge him with being ill-informed, having based himself in that footballing maelstrom of southern California, a location he picked partly so his offspring “wouldn’t grow up as the children of a famous footballer”. Even with satellite television, Klinsmann’s ability to keep up with trends in the Bundesliga has rightly been questioned.

A German television station took a poll recently, asking which of the current squad would have made the 1990 team that won the World Cup in Italy and only two names emerged -Oliver Kahn and Michael Ballack. The pickled presence of Kahn aside, the next few months might cast a more favourable light on the present crop of players. Sebastian Deisler has been maturing quietly at Bayern Munich and, if Ballack goes to Real Madrid in the summer as is widely expected, Deisler will have the chance to come into his own. Others who could impress over the campaign are the Schalke attacker Kevin Kuranyi and Paul Mertesacker of Hanover.

Group D is curious in that all seem happy in it, Klinsmann perhaps summing up the mood best when he said: “It’s a well-balanced group, so it won’t be easy, but other countries have more difficult groups.

“I would not say we have been lucky. The Czechs are very strong, they are the big guns. Wales and Ireland are awkward opponents.”

While Staunton was predictably cagey, the Wales manager, John Toshack, was frank when he addressed the same subject. “With all due respect to the other teams we are happy with the draw and can’t have many complaints,” he said. “There were some pretty sticky travel locations in the pools but we’ve avoided them. Now we’ll have to fight our corner to get the fixtures right.”

Wales have a complication here. The Millennium stadium is unavailable for the first two qualifying dates in September. Toshack says he does not want to start with two away games, which could mean a match at Wrexham’s Racecourse ground or Swansea’s Liberty stadium against one of the group’s minnows. It would also seem to rule out starting the campaign against Ireland, who must first play either away from home or at Lansdowne Road before the pearly gates of Croke Park open in March of next year.

Asked about the prospect of full houses at Croke Park against the Czech Republic and Germany, Staunton said: “I’d say the Wales fixture will be juicy to a lot of people as well. That will be like a local derby, between two home nations really.

You’re going to have two full houses and it’s going to be some atmosphere.”

Under the terms of the agreement with the GAA, Croke Park will be available for six of the 10 dates chosen by Fifa for competitive matches next year. These consist of two dates in March, October and November, with no option to play there in June or September when the All-Ireland championships are in full swing.

Staunton this week plans to meet his backroom staff of Bobby Robson, Kevin McDonald and Alan Kelly to discuss a strategy for the fixtures meeting in Frankfurt on February 9. A firm believer in Ireland’s mythical 12th man, his preference very much appears to be to play as many home games as possible in Croke Park.

This helps to explains why the FAI adopted a strikingly passive line towards that meeting in Frankfurt. FAI officials were at some pains to point out that as fourth seeds, Ireland will not hold the same influence as they did when the fixtures meeting for the World Cup was held in Dublin back in 2004 and Ireland got most of what they were looking for after an acrimonious meeting.

Chief executive John Delaney seemed prepared to tug his generous forelock towards his opponents this time round. “What happens at these fixtures meetings is that the top seeds dictate a lot of what happens and we did that in Dublin that day,” he said. “The Germans and the Czech Republic will have a big say in what they want. Ourselves and Wales are close and will talk, but at the end of the day you will have 11 fellows playing 11 fellows.”

In reality, Delaney is unlikely to be so accommodating, but he is anxious not to give the impression of pressing the financial imperative of Croke Park too hard.

As it happens, Delaney’s wishes for a cash bonanza chime nicely with Staunton’s requirements, so when the campaign opens in September we can expect Ireland to be playing away or against the minnows of San Marino at Lansdowne Road. There is the small matter of a World Cup in June - but roll on September.