Euro 2012 playoffs: Irish handed Estonia boost as Czechs get Montenegro

REPUBLIC of Ireland, whose only appearance at a European Championship came back in 1988, were given a huge boost in their bid to reach next year’s finals when they were drawn to play Estonia in the two-legged play-offs.

The other matches will see Turkey against Croatia while Czech Republic face Montenegro and Bosnia meet Portugal after the play-off draw which included eight of the nine runners-up from the group stages of the qualifying competition.

Sweden, who finished as the runners-up with the best record, reached the finals automatically with the nine group winners. The play-offs will take place on 11-12 November and 15 November with the first-named teams at home in the first leg.

Seeded Ireland, who controversially missed out on last year’s World Cup finals after losing a play-off when Thierry Henry handled the ball in the build-up to France’s winner, start as the strong favourites to progress this time. They will be making their sixth play-off appearance in either the European Championship or World Cup.

Their only two previous matches against Estonia ended in 2-0 wins during the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the last time Ireland reached a major tournament.

Estonia, traditionally one of Europe’s weaker nations, exceeded expectations by finishing second in Group C behind Italy after beating Northern Ireland home and away but they would cause a major upset if they beat Ireland over two legs.

The Irish coach Giovanni Trapattoni was keen to play down expectations against a team ranked 58th in the world. “We should not underestimate our opposition, or any team, including Estonia. To have made it through to the play-offs, they must have quality and mental fortitude,” he said.

“Our build-up to this stage in the competition has shown us the importance of organisation, attention to detail and self-belief. That will be vitally important to us as we prepare for these games in November.”

Czech Republic, who pipped Scotland to finish a distant second behind Spain in Group I, play Montenegro who, like Estonia, have qualified for a play-off for the first time after finishing behind England in Group G. “Montenegro? Turkey or Bosnia would have been more difficult competition. Even if it is not going to be easy, I think it is do-able,” said Czech defender Michal Kadlec.

Turkey against seeded Croatia is a repeat of their epic Euro 2008 quarter-final clash in Vienna, when Croatia went 1-0 up in the last minute of extra time, only for the Turks to equalise with the last kick of the game. Turkey won on penalties and advanced to the semi-finals, where they lost 3-2 to Germany.

Bosnia’s meeting with Portugal will be a repeat of the 2010 World Cup play-offs, when the Portuguese won 2-0 on aggregate to go through to the finals in South Africa.

Full draw:

Turkey v Croatia

Estonia v Republic of Ireland

Czech Republic v Montenegro

Bosnia-Herzegovina v Portugal

First leg, 11/12 November Second leg, 15 November