Hibs midfielder out to stun World Cup hosts
McGrath set to be involved in match against Canada
Hibs midfielder Jamie McGrath and his Republic of Ireland counterparts have been backed to upset World Cup co-hosts Canada less than a week before the tournament starts.
Ireland will head into their final summer fixture having won five of their last seven games in all competitions, losing just one – on penalties to Czechia – to cement their improvement under head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.
They continued that run with a 1-0 victory over World Cup-bound Qatar in Dublin last Thursday evening despite having forward Jack Moylan harshly sent off as the half-time whistle approached.
McGrath played the full match for the Irish against the Qataris after being a late call-up and he in line to win his 14th cap in Toronto, with the game due to take place in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Ireland will not be competing in this summer’s tournament, but will be looking to get another victory under their belt before the squad reconvenes for their Nations League fixtures in September.
Hallgrimsson also believes Canada would have been in the World Cup regardless of automatic qualification.
He said: “A good, energetic squad, good coach and are 30-plus seeds above us in the FIFA rankings. Hosting or not hosting, they would have been in the World Cup.
“That’s how we approach every match. Obviously our approach would be different in every game, given the players we have and the opponents we are playing. We think we have what it takes to win.
“I know it’s a big task and they want to prove themselves to their coach that they should be starters in their first World Cup match. This is a farewell for them into that tournament so there will be a big crowd supporting them.
“It is a challenge for us definitely, but we think we have what it takes to get a result.”
Canada are due to launch their Group B campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto next Friday before facing Qatar in Vancouver on June 18 and Switzerland at the same venue six days later. Hallgrimsson says there may be some younger faces involved against the World Cup co-hosts.
“A week of training is quite a lot in how we are working so we are not afraid of playing some of the players,” he added. “The difference from this game and Qatar is that we’ve had the younger guys longer in training, on meetings and on the sessions to try and understand what we want.
“We would have been a little scared of doing it against Qatar.”
Meanwhile, according to reports, the FAI board are due to meet on Thursday night to discuss their Nations League fixtures against Israel. Reports suggest that the home game against Israel on October 4 could be moved outside of Dublin.
Hallgrimsson was asked his opinion on the matter, and the Icelandic manager replied: “My opinion basically has no value in this. Would I like to play at home against an opponent in the Aviva? Yes. Would I like to play in front of our fans? Yes. That’s just how I feel.
“It’s not my decision to make. We will respect the decision taken by the higher footballing authorities We all have different opinions on these matters and all have different solutions.”