sturdy and have great chemistry with each other when it comes to thwarting chances. Teams who will possess the ball more than Ireland may become frustrated with being repeatedly stopped by defenders who'll fight to the last second. In terms of midfield, Ireland will likely often not be able to maintain possession against elite playmakers. However, they will have experienced central midfielders in Stoke's Glenn Whelan and West Brom's Keith Andrews who'll support the defense and do the "dirty work" in retrieving the ball through hard tackles and vigorous marking. Ireland also has promising, young midfielders in Darren Gibson and James McLean who can maintain possession, score and, set up their forwards. Ireland's central midfielders will try to link up with the wingers who will have to create chances and provide proper ball service to the strikers. On one end, there will be the familiar presence of Damien Duff who will rack up assists and score the occasional goal. The other winger will be Aiden McGeady who at age 26 has already been very successful with Celtic and Spartak Moscow. Like Duff, he will also be vital when it come to getting assists through setting up the forwards. Besides Ireland's defense, the strikers may be one of the best aspects of this team. They will be lead by the incomparable captain, Robbie Keane, who provides class, familiarity and expert finishing skills. He'll be supported by Kevin Doyle who may be one of the more important members of the squad due