Republic of Ireland 3 Faroe Islands 0 match report: Robbie Keane marks his record-breaking 126th cap with hat-trick

Robbie Keane celebrates his hat-trick on his 126th cap (Getty Images)

Robbie Keane admitted the achievement of becoming the Republic of Ireland's most capped player on Friday played second fiddle in his mind to getting a three-point haul against the Faroe Islands.

Keane collected his 126th cap in the Republic's World Cup qualifier in Dublin to pass the record set by Shay Given, but the Los Angeles Galaxy striker said the most important thing for him was getting the 3-0 victory.

And the 32-year-old ensured his side would be celebrating a triumph with a hat-trick, scoring in the fifth, 55th and 81st minutes to extend his tally as the Republic's record goalscorer:.

Keane told Sky Sports 1: "All in all it's been a great occasion for everybody, glad it's over now. There was a lot of fuss before the game, the important thing obviously was concentrating on playing football, we did that and got the three points so everybody's happy.

"There was a lot of talk about getting the record caps but for me that was almost in the back of my mind, it was about playing the game and playing in the right manner and getting the right result for the team.

"For me it was just another game. Certainly it was a special occasion for everybody involved, my family, for me I was just concentrating on the game and getting the result for the lads."

The victory lifts the Republic up to third place in Group C on 11 points, level with second-placed Austria and five behind leaders Germany.

The Republic now face their two biggest challengers for second spot, Sweden and Austria, in their next two matches in September and Keane believes those could end up being decisive.

"It's a good thing we have to play Austria and we have to play Sweden, I think our main focus now is on ourselves rather than worry about the opposition," he said.

"We know exactly what we have to do, we have to win our games. The two games coming up are massive for us, it's probably make or break," he said.

PA