Giovanni Trapattoni believes Ireland must not lose their Euro 2012 opener with Croatia if they are to make it past the group stages.
The Irish, who are 7/2 with bookmaker to qualify from Group C, which includes Italy, Spain and Croatia, are participating in their first European Championships since 1988.
They open their Euro 2012 campaign against Croatia, who were runners-up to Greece in qualifying before defeating Turkey in the play-offs, and Trapattoni insists a win in their first match could set the tone for a relatively successful tournament.
“It’s not just the pundits, but we ourselves also know perfectly well that the first match is very important, as important as the other first match, Italy against Spain,” he said.
“So the first 90 minutes will have an impact on the tournament. It’s very important to win the first match, which would give us a certain advantage, but it would also be important not to lose. Then you’d need to judge it in light of the Italy-Spain result.”
