Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill has said that Denmark manager Åge Hareide ‘wasn’t such a great player himself’ ahead of Ireland’s friendly with France on Monday.
O’Neill played and lived with Hareide during their time together as players at Norwich City and they faced off against each other as managers last year in the FIFA World Cup play-off last with Denmark.
Hareide sarcastically thanked O’Neill and Ireland for allowing playmaker Christian Eriksen so much space in the 5-1 second leg drubbing at the Aviva Stadium and O’Neill used his pre-match press conference for the French friendly as a chance to return the favour after Hareide suggested that Denmark’s group stage opponents France are ‘nothing special’ ahead of next month’s World Cup.
“Did he say that?,” O’Neill asked when he was told about Hareide’s comments concerning France.
“Well, I know the Danish coach – I used to play with him. He’s a very nice man – he wasn’t such a great player himself.
“It’s highly dangerous to talk about that. I think the French are individually well-equipped. The French have been strong for some time.
“He may be referring to, perhaps… there’s a feeling sometimes that the French are not always united – all we needed was the example of (Adrien) Rabiot leaving the squad.
“Personally, I think they’re very strong. France, when they get together, will be strong in this competition.
“They will be disappointed to lose the final of European Championship, but overall they have as good a chance as anybody of winning the World Cup.
Ireland squad
“The main thing is the extra experience they have had over the last couple of years. Qualification was fine. I disagree with the Danish manager. Individually, France have got very strong players indeed.”
O’Neill will take an experimental squad to Paris as he looks to start shaping his team for the UEFA Nations League and Euro 2020 qualifiers later this year.
15 of the 26 players included in the Ireland squad for the friendlies against France and the United States have five caps or less to their names but O’Neill insists that the players should be honoured to take on the Euro 2016 finalists regardless of differences in experience and talent.
“We are unable to take things easy. It will be a big test for us,” said O’Neill.
“You talk about players winding down, I wouldn’t consider it, if I was playing for the Republic of Ireland, as winding down.
“I would consider it a great honour to play in this game, particularly if I had one cap, no caps or three caps.
“It would be really important in my progress as an international player, to see where I stand in football. You could not get a stronger motivation.
“France are going to the World Cup, it’s a big preparation game for them before they head to Russia.
“For us, it’s great preparation for the Nations League coming up in September, October and November.
“It’s a big game for us and for a number of the inexperienced players we have in the squad.
Ireland squad:
Goalkeepers: Colin Doyle, Conor O’Malley, Shane Supple
Defenders: Seamus Coleman, Matt Doherty, John Egan, Shane Duffy, Kevin Long, Darragh Lenihan, Declan Rice, John O’Shea, Enda Stevens, Derrick Williams, Greg Cunningham
Midfielders: Callum O’Dowda, Harry Arter, David Meyler, Alan Judge, Alan Browne, Shaun Williams, James McClean, Daryl Horgan.
Forwards: Jonathan Walters, Shane Long, Graham Burke
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