Staunton seeks serene show in uneasy times

It will be a night for sober reflection in the Most Serene Republic of San Marino - and not just because of the death last Friday of policeman Filippo Raciti during rioting at the Sicilian derby which has led to all football in Italy being suspended.

The Sammarinese, who live in a landlocked enclave dominated by the Apennine mountains, contacted Luca Pancalli, the head of the Italian Football Federation, to gain his approval for this evening's European Championship qualifier against the Republic of Ireland. It is the only competitive international taking place this week.

A minute's silence will be observed and black armbands worn, but not just because of Raciti's death. The phone call to Pancalli was made by Giorgio Crescentini, the president of the Football Federation. He was touched by personal tragedy in December when his nephew, Federico, a 24-year-old student and central defender, who played against Ireland last autumn, drowned while on holiday in Mexico trying to save a friend. The friend survived.

Four thousand people attended Federico's funeral, from a population of just 30,000, and the death has hit the Sammarinese hard. It, along with last Friday's shocking events, put football into perspective, but the Irish will still have to focus on the immediate task. Anything short of three points, and a hefty goals balance, is unthinkable against the 195th best team in the world who, in 37 previous qualifiers, have scored just four goals and conceded 170 including the 13-0 and 7-0 defeats at home to Germany and the Czech Republic.

Both Group D matches took place in the tiny, two-sided Serravalle Stadium with a capacity of just 5,000. Their coach, Giampolo Mazza, who has been in the post since 1998 and has a great line in enthusiastic resignation, yesterday summed up his job. "We know it's impossible for us to win a match," he said. "So the first words for a San Marino coach [to his players] is to explain that we always lose."

If only the Irish manager, Steve Staunton, was so engaging. His press conference yesterday hit new lows in downbeat blandness and grudging acknowledgement, but in naming his team he did hand a debut to the 20-year-old Reading striker Shane Long, who replaces his injured club, and former Cork City, team-mate Kevin Doyle. "I hope they will come out and play, but I don't see it," said Staunton, who was in the Irish team who drew 0-0 with Liechtenstein - the only nation to lose to San Marino, in 1995 - of tonight's opponents.

Anything short of a convincing victory, with two more wins in the double-header against Wales and Slovakia also needed, will again turn the spotlight on Staunton. The suspicion, considering how close he came to losing his job after the débâcle in Cyprus, is that he is still just one more poor performance from the sack. Surely that cannot happen tonight. Can it?

Republic of Ireland (4-4-2): Henderson (Preston); Finnan (Liverpool), O'Shea (Manchester United), Dunne (Manchester City), Harte (Levante); Duff (Newcastle United), Carsley (Everton), Ireland (Manchester City), Kilbane (Wigan Athletic); Keane (Tottenham Hotspur), Long (Reading).

San Marino: (probable 4-5-1); F Valentini (Sporting Novalfeltria); C Valentini (Santa Novafeltria), Vitaioli (Secchiano), Simoncini (Santa Giustina), Albani (Saludecio); Vannucci (Libertas), Andreini (Tre Fiori), Bugli (Secchiano), Marani (AC Dozzese), Negri (SS Folgore); Selva (Sassuolo).