Ibra aims to silence Danes in playoffs

Ireland boss O�Neill eyes Bosnia and beyond

AFP, PARIS: A diminished Republic of Ireland hope to emerge from the first leg of their Euro 2016 qualifying play-off away to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday with their chances of reaching the finals intact. Martin O’Neill’s side go to Zenica before hosting the Bosnians in Dublin on Monday with a place in France next summer up for grabs, but with suspensions and injuries giving the Irish manager plenty to think about.
“Make no mistake about it, the games will be difficult, but you wouldn’t be expecting any sort of walkover in play-off games,” said O’Neill, who must do without the suspended Jonathan Walters and John O’Shea and injured goalkeepers Shay Given and Rob Elliot. Southampton striker Shane Long, scorer of the goal that secured a famous 1-0 win over Germany last month, is also out of the first leg with an ankle injury.
However, O’Neill added: “The momentum swinging towards them doesn’t bother me, it genuinely doesn’t bother me. We have got ourselves into this position and we don’t want to throw it away lightly.” While Ireland finished third behind Germany and Poland in qualifying Group D, Bosnia came in behind Wales and Belgium in Group B. Coach Mehmed Bazdarevic is without suspended Everton midfielder Muhamed Besic for the first leg while the likes of Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and Roma duo Miralem Pjanic and Edin Dzeko are all a yellow card away from missing the return. Bosnia have unhappy memories of these occasions — they lost to Portugal in play-offs for the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
Meanwhile, Scandinavian rivals Sweden and Denmark meet in the first leg of their tie in Solna, just outside Stockholm, on Saturday. The two nations, linked by the Oresund Bridge spanning the water from Copenhagen to Malmo, have plenty of previous in the European Championship. Denmark won Euro ‘92 in Sweden, but only after losing to the hosts in the group stage, while a 2-2 draw between the sides at Euro 2004 in Portugal took them through to the quarter-finals at Italy’s expense.
Then there was the Euro 2008 qualifier in Copenhagen in 2007 that was abandoned after a Danish supporter ran on to the pitch and attacked the German referee who had just awarded Sweden a penalty and sent off Denmark’s Christian Poulsen for a punch on Markus Rosenberg.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic fresh from winning Sweden’s Golden Ball award and having scored nine goals in six league games for Paris Saint-Germain, Erik Hamren’s side will be hopeful of taking a lead into the return. Denmark, meanwhile, will be without Hannover midfielder Leon Andreasen after he cut his hand with a knife opening a parcel and needed an operation. Hungary had been poised to qualify automatically as the best third-placed team until a late Turkey goal in
the 89th minute of their final match took them through instead.

Ibra aims to silence Danes in playoffs

Ireland boss O�Neill eyes Bosnia and beyond

AFP, PARIS: A diminished Republic of Ireland hope to emerge from the first leg of their Euro 2016 qualifying play-off away to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday with their chances of reaching the finals intact. Martin ONeills side go to Zenica before hosting the Bosnians in Dublin on Monday with a place in France next summer up for grabs, but with suspensions and injuries giving the Irish manager plenty to think about. Make no mistake about it, the games will be difficult, but you wouldnt be expecting any sort of walkover in play-off games, said ONeill, who must do without the suspended Jonathan Walters and John OShea and injured goalkeepers Shay Given and Rob Elliot. Southampton striker Shane Long, scorer of the goal that secured a famous 1-0 win over Germany last month, is also out of the first leg with an ankle injury. However, ONeill added: The momentum swinging towards them doesnt bother me, it genuinely doesnt bother me. We have got ourselves into this position and we dont want to throw it away lightly. While Ireland finished third behind Germany and Poland in qualifying Group D, Bosnia came in behind Wales and Belgium in Group B. Coach Mehmed Bazdarevic is without suspended Everton midfielder Muhamed Besic for the first leg while the likes of Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and Roma duo Miralem Pjanic and Edin Dzeko are all a yellow card away from missing the return. Bosnia have unhappy memories of these occasions they lost to Portugal in play-offs for the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. Meanwhile, Scandinavian rivals Sweden and Denmark meet in the first leg of their tie in Solna, just outside Stockholm, on Saturday. The two nations, linked by the Oresund Bridge spanning the water from Copenhagen to Malmo, have plenty of previous in the European Championship. Denmark won Euro 92 in Sweden, but only after losing to the hosts in the group stage, while a 2-2 draw between the sides at Euro 2004 in Portugal took them through to the quarter-finals at Italys expense. Then there was the Euro 2008 qualifier in Copenhagen in 2007 that was abandoned after a Danish supporter ran on to the pitch and attacked the German referee who had just awarded Sweden a penalty and sent off Denmarks Christian Poulsen for a punch on Markus Rosenberg. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic fresh from winning Swedens Golden Ball award and having scored nine goals in six league games for Paris Saint-Germain, Erik Hamrens side will be hopeful of taking a lead into the return. Denmark, meanwhile, will be without Hannover midfielder Leon Andreasen after he cut his hand with a knife opening a parcel and needed an operation. Hungary had been poised to qualify automatically as the best third-placed team until a late Turkey goal in the 89th minute of their final match took them through instead.