Post by Taxigirl on Feb 19, 2004 11:11:51 GMT
Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given believes the goalless draw with Brazil is the perfect preparation for taking on France in the World Cup.
Given kept a clean sheet against the likes of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, and is now keen to start the 2006 campaign.
"It's a confidence boost for our qualifying campaign, especially as we have France in our group who are obviously the big favourites," he said.
"They were world champions a few years back, so this is something similar to playing against them.
"This result against Brazil is a massive boost."
Given was delighted with the way a new-look side dealt with the challenge of the world champions at Landsdowne Road.
"We have brought in some new players now and it's a case of mixing them all in together," he said.
"I thought Graham Kavanagh and Andy Reid fitted in really well."
But even a draw with Brazil and the knowledge that it was a match Ireland could easily have won does not make up for the disappointment of missing out on Euro 2004.
"It will be hard to take in the summer when the European Championships are on," said Given.
"That will be a hard pill to swallow.
"But we can't look back, we can't feel sorry for ourselves, the next thing is September and the World Cup qualifiers, which are going to be huge."
Republic of Ireland legend Paul McGrath was also impressed with Wednesday's performance, and believes they can emulate the success of their predecessors.
"Of course they can, they have got some very good players," said McGrath.
"I would love them to start getting some really great results like we used to do, that would be great.
"I think they played very well against Brazil, it was a very good performance.
"I think this team have it in them to go on and prove themselves against France, but they will be two very, very hard games."