Trap indicates same XI for Paris

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Giovanni Trapattoni has indicated he will stick with the same team that slipped to World Cup play-off defeat to France on Saturday for the return leg in Paris tomorrow evening.

The 70-year-old Italian looks likely to field the same side at the Stade de France as the Republic attempt to overturn a 1-0 deficit to make it to next summer's finals in South Africa.

Trapattoni will finalise his plans overnight, but if he does stick with his selection for the game at Croke Park, Stoke midfielder Liam Lawrence will once again get the nod ahead of Celtic's Aiden McGeady on the right side of midfield.

Trapattoni is also confident his players will not allow their anger to boil over following the bust up between Lassana Diarra and Keith Andrews.

Trapattoni said: 'I played football too and I know what happens. Players in games are always under pressure and sometimes, they don't know what happens in these moments.

'I am sure we and also the French players have forgotten all about it. I have said to the players, these games are for warm hearts and cool heads. We must play with cool heads, but warm hearts.

'With feet, we can score goals. If we keep cool heads, we can use our feet to score goals.'

Skipper Robbie Keane also insisted he and his team-mates would not allow their difference of opinion with Diarra to distract them from their mission.

Keane said: 'As far as we are concerned, that's gone. It happened after the game. Of course, every player's reaction straight after would be, "I didn't say this", or whatever.

'But that's just the way it is. It's obviously put a bit of fuel to the fire, but we can't be going into the game thinking about Diarra or the comments he made.

'We have to concentrate on the job at hand, and we will certainly be doing that.'

That said, the players would like nothing better than to provide Diarra with the perfect response by cancelling out the lead Nicolas Anelka's goal gave France in Dublin and then overhauling it to take their place in South Africa.

Few outside of Ireland will give them any great hope, but that will be the focus of the men in green as they attempt to upset the odds.

Keane said: 'We can't be worried about what happened before. I don't think we need anything to be up for this game.

'We know what's at stake at the end of it and we will certainly be up for it as players.

'Regardless of what anyone else said or what anyone else did, we would be up for this game, and we have to be because there is a massive carrot dangling at the end of it.

'It's the World Cup that as a kid, we all dream of playing in. I keep saying it, but I have been fortunate enough to play in one and I am desperate to play in another.'

Trapattoni added: 'We cannot lose our heads in this situation, we need to be calm, but I will not sit on the bench without trying everything.

'We can't let the game finish and not get a result because I haven't changed things.

'But we must not forget, in many, many finals in the World Cup or the Champions League, the very important games, there are not many goals - 1-0, 1-0, 1-0.

'In the very important games, teams do not score three, four or five goals. It's very, very difficult.

'We still have 90 minutes to play. I have told the players they must believe we can do it and achieve this qualification.'